C63 new ink technology source and related issues

Different from the oily inks used for printing, the inks used in inkjet printers are all water-based inks. The viscosity of the inks is much lower, otherwise it is difficult to imagine that the ink can be ejected from nozzles even smaller than the hair, and Does not cause obstruction. The water-based inks used in ink-jet printing are divided into Dye ink and Pigment ink, and the inkjet inks that we have used for a long time are mostly dye inks.

The outstanding advantage of dye inks is their excellent color expression. We have been adept at printing exquisite digital photos. However, the dye ink also has insurmountable weaknesses: First, the print media is very picky, good print results often require specialized print media support to achieve, especially on ordinary copy paper, the effect is unsatisfactory; Second, color durability is not enough Both light and air oxidation can make its work easily fade the original brilliant colors. For inkjet printers, these two weaknesses of dye inks are also one of the shortcomings that have long constrained the development of inkjet technology. Pigment inks were developed for the aforementioned weaknesses of dye inks. Since Epson introduced the six-color pigment ink in its large-format inkjet printer for the first time in 2001, the pigment ink technology itself has been continuously improved, and new pigment inks are often introduced and used on various professional models. The "Colorful Water Rejection Light" released with Epson STYLUS C63 is the latest achievement of its pigment ink technology. In contrast to previous years, C63 is not a special model applied to a specific area, but is a mainstream model for a wide range of individual users. The price is only around 700 yuan. This at least shows that Epson believes that its pigment ink technology is very mature enough to face the market. The largest share of mainstream individual users, and its cost can be well controlled. that's the truth.

[About smudging on plain paper]

To investigate the difference in printing effect on ordinary copy paper, we must first examine the microstructure of ordinary copy paper. Copy paper consists of criss-crossing paper fibers, filled with a gummy material. In general, the proportion of hydrophilic factors in dye inks is very high. Due to the effect of these hydrophilic factors, the dye ink easily penetrates into the paper fiber, which causes the dye ink to smudge on ordinary copy paper and seriously affects the printing effect. In contrast to pigment inks, a large number of water-repellent factors are substituted for the hydrophilic factors so that the ink does not penetrate deeper into the paper fiber, but instead adheres to the surface of the paper in an orderly manner. There is an extreme and easy way to investigate this difference: When a drop of water is added to the print of ordinary dye ink, the image will be blurred immediately, even the color paint will flow everywhere. Many old users of inkjet printers are in this respect. There will be some experience; however, even if the C63 print product is soaked in water for a long time, the effect will not change, and the difference from the dye ink is obvious.

[Questions about long-term preservation]

Epson's "Constant Color Water Repellent Light" allows printed products to remain in the normal environment for 70 years without discoloration, which is beyond the reach of print ink products. The main rivals that affect the preservation of printed products are ultraviolet radiation and air oxidation. Normal pigment inks are almost useless for these problems. The Epson pigment ink contains extremely stable solid particles, and there is also a resin material. When the pigment is attached to the medium, the resin material is protected in the outer layer, so that it is free from external erosion. This feature of “Constant Color Water Repellent Light” also makes it extremely strong in adhesion, and even if it is applied with a highly sensitive highlighter pen on a printed product that has just been completed, it will not feel the peeling of the ink. In this regard, interested friends can also personally verify, and it is best to do comparative experiments with traditional inkjet products.

[About color expressiveness]

Color expression has always been the weak point of pigment ink compared to dye ink, and it is a major bottleneck restricting the development of pigment ink. Epson's "Constant Color Water Rejection and Light Ink" launched with the C63 is a good way to overcome this bottleneck, reaching the level of ordinary dye ink in color expression, and even beyond. In fact, there are deep reasons why the color performance of pigment inks can be greatly improved. Because the pigment ink will not penetrate into the deep layer of the media, the pigments will accumulate on the surface of the paper, and the efficiency and effect of the color representation will be higher. At the same time, the same volume of ink droplets is sprayed on the surface of the medium, and the ink dots produced by the pigment ink will be smaller than the dye ink. This means that under the same conditions, the pigment ink model can have smaller ink droplets than the dye ink model. We know that the minimum ink droplet volume is a key indicator of inkjet printers, which directly affects the accuracy of color performance and the ability to express fine details.

It is no accident that Epson can make more achievements in the ink technology, especially the pigment ink technology. This is due to the unremitting technological development of Aipu's growing period, and it also has root causes of technological differences. People familiar with ink-jet printing technology know that microscopically, Epson's ink-jet technology is fundamentally different from other brands: Epson uses micro-piezoelectric printing technology, which uses electric pulses to control crystal oscillations to eject ink, while others Brands usually use bubble-type (or thermal spray) technology, which heats the ink locally to vaporize, creating a burst of bubbles and ejecting the ink. Ink has a local heating process, it will inevitably make ink technology development has some limitations, the physical and chemical properties of ink must be limited, it is hard to imagine that resin material can be stable after a few hundred degrees of high temperature after the original expected effect. In this respect, Epson can be said to have an inherent advantage, and it is not surprising to be able to create such a good ink.