Ink composition for inkjet textile printing and method for textile printing of hydrophobic fibers

Abstract

An ink composition for inkjet textile printing containing a urethane resin, a dispersant and a disperse dye, in which the content of the urethane resin is greater than 0.035 mass % but less than 6 mass %, and a method for textile printing of hydrophobic fibers using the ink composition.

Claims

1. An ink composition for inkjet textile printing, consisting essentially of a urethane resin, a dispersant a disperse dye, water, and at least one ink preparation agent selected from the group consisting of a water-soluble organic solvent, an antiseptic and antifungal agent, a pH adjusting agent, a chelating agent, a rust preventive agent, an ultraviolet absorbing agent, a viscosity adjusting agent, a dye-dissolving agent, an anti-fading agent, a surface tension adjusting agent, and a defoaming agent, wherein the content of the urethane resin is greater than 0.035% by mass and less than 6% by mass.

2. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1, wherein the content of the urethane resin is greater than 2% by mass and less than 6% by mass.

3. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1, wherein the urethane resin includes at least one selected from polycarbonate-based urethane resins and polyether-based urethane resins.

4. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1, wherein the disperse dye includes at least one selected from the group consisting of C.I. Disperse Yellow, C.I. Disperse Orange, C.I. Disperse Blue and C.I. Disperse Red.

5. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 4, wherein the disperse dye includes at least one selected from the group consisting of C.I. Disperse Yellow 54, C.I. Disperse Orange 25, C.I. Disperse Blue 56, C.I. Disperse Blue 72, C.I. Disperse Blue 359, C.I. Disperse Blue 360 and C.I. Disperse Red 60.

6. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1, wherein the dispersant includes at least one selected from styrene-(meth)acrylic copolymers and formalin condensates of aromatic sulfonic acids.

7. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 6, wherein the mass average molecular weight of the styrene-(meth)acrylic copolymer is 1,000 to 20,000.

8. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 7, wherein the mass average molecular weight of the styrene-(meth)acrylic copolymer is 2,000 to 19,000.

9. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 8, wherein the mass average molecular weight of the styrene-(meth)acrylic copolymer is 4,000 to 17,000.

10. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1, wherein the water-soluble organic solvent is the ink preparation agent.

11. The ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 10, wherein the water-soluble organic solvent includes at least one selected from glycerin and propylene glycol.

12. A fiber dyed by the ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1.

13. A method for textile printing hydrophobic fibers, comprising: using the ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to claim 1 as an ink, and attaching a droplet of the ink to the hydrophobic fibers using an inkjet printer; fixing the dye in the ink attached to the hydrophobic fibers to the hydrophobic fibers by heating; and washing off any unfixed dye remaining in the hydrophobic fibers.

14. The method for textile printing hydrophobic fibers according to claim 13, further comprising applying an aqueous solution containing a sizing material, an alkaline substance, a reduction inhibitor, and a hydrotropic agent to the hydrophobic fibers before the ink is attached.

15. A method for textile printing hydrophobic fibers, comprising: using the ink composition for inkjet textile printing according to any claim 1 as an ink, and attaching a droplet of the ink to an intermediate recording medium by an inkjet printer, to obtain a recorded image; and transferring the recorded image to the hydrophobic fibers by bringing the hydrophobic fibers into contact with the surface of the intermediate recording medium to which the ink is attached, followed by heat treating.

Description

EXAMPLES

(1) In the following, the present invention is explained in more detail by way of the Examples; however, the present invention is not limited to these Examples. In the Examples, unless otherwise specified, “parts” indicates parts by mass and “%” indicates % by mass.

Preparation Example 1: Preparation of Emulsion Liquid

(2) To a mixture of 48% lithium hydroxide (3.2 parts), ion-exchanged water (56.8 parts) and propylene glycol (20 parts), 20 parts of Joncryl® 678 (manufactured by BASF Corporation) were added, and the mixture was heated to 90 to 120° C. and stirred for 5 hours to obtain an emulsion liquid of Joncryl® 678.

Preparation Example 2: Preparation of Aqueous Dispersion 1

(3) A mixture of Kayaset Red B (30 parts) (C.I. Disperse Red 60, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) as the sublimable dye, the emulsion liquid (60 parts) of Joncryl® 678 obtained in Preparation Example 1, Proxel® GXL (0.2 parts), Surfynol 104PG50 (0.4 parts), and ion-exchanged water (24 parts) was subjected to dispersing treatment while cooling for about 15 hours in a sand mill including 0.2 mm diameter glass beads. To the liquid after the dispersing treatment, ion-exchanged water (60 parts) and the emulsion liquid (30 parts) of Joncryl® 678 obtained in Preparation Example 1 were added to adjust the dye content to 15%, followed by filtration using a glass fiber filter paper GC-50 (Toyo Filter Paper Co., Ltd., pore size of the filter: 0.5 μm), to obtain aqueous dispersion 1.

Preparation Example 3: Preparation of Aqueous Dispersion 2

(4) A mixture of Kayaset Red B (30 parts) (C.I. Disperse Red 60, manufactured by Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.) as the sublimable dye, Labelin® W-40 (45 parts) (40% aqueous solution of formalin condensate of creosote oil sulfonate salt, manufactured by DKS Co., Ltd.) as the anionic dispersant, NIKKOL® BPS-30 (2 parts) (30 moles of EO (ethylene oxide) adduct of phytosterol, manufactured by Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.) as the nonionic dispersant, and ion exchanged water (23 parts) was subjected to dispersing treatment while cooling for about 15 hours in a sand mill including 0.2 mm diameter glass beads. To the liquid after the dispersing treatment, ion-exchanged water (100 parts) was added to adjust the dye content to 15%, followed by filtration using a glass fiber filter paper GC-50 (Toyo Filter Paper Co., Ltd., pore size of the filter: 0.5 μm), to obtain aqueous dispersion 2.

Preparation Example 4: Preparation of Polyethylene Glycol Solution

(5) Polyethylene glycol 2000 (30 parts) (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industries, Co., Ltd.) heated to 50° C. was added to ion-exchanged water (70 parts) heated to 60° C., and the mixture was heated to 50 to 70° C. and stirred for 2 hours to obtain a 30% solution of polyethylene glycol 2000.

Example 1

(6) An aqueous ink was prepared by mixing the aqueous dispersion 1 (30 parts) obtained in Preparation Example 2, glycerin (20 parts), UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 40%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.), propylene glycol (8 parts), BYK-348 (0.2 parts) (polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane, manufactured by BYK Chemie Japan), and ion-exchanged water (33.05 parts).

Example 2

(7) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Permarin UA368T (6.94 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 49.7%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 34.86 parts.

Example 3

(8) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Permarin UA150 T (11.5 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 30%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 30.30 parts.

Example 4

(9) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that UPUD-UW-1527F (11.7 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 30%, manufactured by Ube Industries, Ltd.) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 30.10 parts.

Example 5

(10) An aqueous ink was prepared by mixing the aqueous dispersion 2 (30 parts) obtained in Preparation Example 3, glycerin (20 parts), UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 40%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.), propylene glycol (8 parts), BYK-348 (0.2 parts) (polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane, manufactured by BYK Chemie Japan), and ion-exchanged water (33.05 parts).

Example 6

(11) An aqueous ink was prepared by mixing the aqueous dispersion 2 (30 parts) obtained in Preparation Example 3, glycerin (20 parts), UCOAT UX320 (12.5 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 40%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.), propylene glycol (8 parts), BYK-348 (0.2 parts) (polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane, manufactured by BYK Chemie Japan), and ion-exchanged water (29.3 parts).

Comparative Example 1

(12) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that UCOAT UX320 was not added and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 41.80 parts.

Comparative Example 2

(13) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that AQUACER 515 (10 parts) (polyethylene resin emulsion, manufactured by BYK-Chemie Japan, Inc.) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 31.80 parts.

Comparative Example 3

(14) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that Mowinyl 6960 (7.78 parts) (acrylic resin emulsion, manufactured by Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 34.02 parts.

Comparative Example 4

(15) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that AE-609 (14.0 parts) (acrylic resin emulsion, manufactured by E-TEC Co., Ltd.) was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 27.80 parts.

Comparative Example 5

(16) An aqueous ink was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the polyethylene glycol solution (11.7 parts) obtained in Preparation Example 4 was used instead of UCOAT UX320 (8.75 parts) and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 30.10 parts.

Comparative Example 6

(17) An aqueous ink was prepared by mixing the aqueous dispersion 2 (30 parts) obtained in Preparation Example 3, glycerin (20 parts), UCOAT UX320 (27.5 parts) (urethane resin with a solid content of 40%, manufactured by Sanyo Chemical Industries, Ltd.), propylene glycol (8 parts), BYK-348 (0.2 parts) (polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane, manufactured by BYK Chemie Japan), and ion-exchanged water (14.3 parts).

(18) The following evaluation tests were performed using the inks prepared as described above.

(19) (Evaluation of Re-Discharge Properties After Being Left Open)

(20) Each of the prepared inks was filled into an inkjet printer (PX-504A, manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation), 100% Duty image was printed, and then discharge was stopped. After being left for 30 minutes, inkjet printing was started again, and the discharge property immediately after the start was visually confirmed to evaluate the property in accordance with the following three evaluation criteria A to C. Test results are shown in Table 1 below.

(21) —Evaluation Criteria—

(22) A: No rubbing is observed on the printed portion.

(23) B: Slight rubbing is observed on the printed portion.

(24) C: Clearly rubbing of the printed area is observed.

(25) (Evaluation of Color Developing Property)

(26) Each of the prepared inks was filled into an inkjet printer (PX-504A, manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation) and solid printing was performed as a 100% Duty image on the following three types of recording media (paper A to paper C) which are different in basis weight (weight). In general, it is considered that, with a lower basis weight, the penetration by solvent or the like will proceed more, and this results in lower color developing property. The ink-applied surface of the obtained recording medium was cut into a predetermined size (35 cm×40 cm), superimposed on a piece of polyester cloth (pongee) of the same size, and then heat-treated using a transfer press machine (TP-600A2, manufactured by Taiyo Seiki Co., Ltd.) under conditions of 200° C.×60 seconds, so that sublimation transfer textile printing was performed from the recording medium to the piece of polyester cloth to prepare a piece of dyed cloth.

(27) Paper A: sublimation transfer paper (Hansol, basis weight: 50 g/m.sup.2)

(28) Paper B: Japanese paper KB-W115w for PPC (manufactured by Kokuyo Co., Ltd., basis weight: 60 g/m.sup.2)

(29) Paper C: sublimation transfer paper TRS75-1320 (manufactured by Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., basis weight: 75 g/m.sup.2)

(30) The dyeing density (Density Magenta; DM) of each of the obtained pieces of dyed cloth was measured using a colorimeter (Spectro Eye, manufactured by GRETAG-MACBETH Corporation). Results are shown in Table 1 below.

(31) (Evaluation of Paper Dryness)

(32) Each of the prepared inks was filled into an inkjet printer (PX-504A, manufactured by Seiko Epson Corporation) and solid printing was performed as a 100% Duty image on sublimation transfer paper TRS75-1320 (manufactured by Mimaki Engineering CO., Ltd.). After printing, the image on the paper was rubbed to evaluate the time until the image was no longer lost. Results are shown in Table 1 below.

(33) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Re-discharge Color developing property Paper surface property after being drying (Density Magenta) left open property Paper A Paper B Paper C Example 1 A  40 seconds 1.39 1.38 1.43 Example 2 A  30 seconds 1.37 1.36 1.42 Example 3 A  30 seconds 1.38 1.37 1.41 Example 4 A  30 seconds 1.36 1.37 1.43 Example 5 A  30 seconds 1.35 1.36 1.41 Example 6 A  30 seconds 1.38 1.37 1.45 Comparative A  90 seconds 1.18 1.20 1.41 Example 1 Comparative B 100 seconds 1.23 1.21 1.41 Example 2 Comparative A  90 seconds 1.27 1.18 1.41 Example 3 Comparative A  90 seconds 1.27 1.20 1.42 Example 4 Comparative C  30 seconds 1.35 1.37 1.43 Example 5 Comparative B  30 seconds 1.34 1.33 1.40 Example 6

(34) As is clear from the results of Table 1, the aqueous inks of Examples 1 to 6 were excellent in the re-discharge property after being left open, the paper surface drying property, and the color developing property. On the other hand, the aqueous inks of Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were inferior in the paper surface drying property and the color developing property, and the aqueous ink of Comparative Example 2 was inferior in the re-discharge property after being left open as well. The aqueous ink of Comparative Example 5 was noticeably inferior in the re-discharge property after being left open. Furthermore, the aqueous ink of Comparative Example 6 was inferior in the discharge property after being left open and the color developing property.

(35) From these results, it was found that the aqueous inks of Examples 1 to 6 have the above-mentioned performances (re-discharge property after being left open, paper surface dryness property, and color developing property), and are extremely useful as inks for various types of recording, in particular, as inks for inkjet textile printing.