JP6026837B2 - Inkjet apparatus and inkjet method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inkjet technique for printing by discharging ink.

  In recent years, inkjet devices that discharge aqueous inks such as aqueous dye inks and aqueous pigment inks are widely used from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Offset printing paper for offset printing using oil-based ink is inexpensive because it circulates in large quantities, but when water-based ink printing is performed on the offset printing paper using an inkjet device, the ink discharged onto the offset printing paper In addition, problems such as deterioration of image quality such as bleeding and insufficient density, deterioration of water resistance, and deterioration of scratch resistance occur. For this reason, in the ink jet apparatus, various kinds of ink jet special papers in which the fixing property and drying property of the water-based ink are improved have been used.

  Inkjet exclusive paper is produced, for example, by forming a coat (anchor coat) layer that improves the fixability of water-based ink on general printing paper. The coating layer includes, for example, a coating agent (also referred to as “coating liquid”) containing inorganic fine particles such as silica, a hydrophilic binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, and a dispersant for maintaining the dispersion of the inorganic fine particles. It is formed by applying on a printing paper. In the formed coating layer, the fixability of the water-based ink is improved by, for example, adsorbing the water-based ink in the gap between the inorganic fine particles adhering to the printing paper. However, such ink jet dedicated paper is more expensive than general coated paper for offset printing.

  Therefore, for example, in the inkjet printer of Patent Document 1, a surface on which a general printing paper such as an offset printing paper has a coating agent that modifies the surface state for water-based ink in advance, and the surface on which the coating agent is applied to the printing paper. A processing mechanism is provided. The ink-jet printer performs printing after applying the coating agent prior to printing to change the surface state of a general printing paper to a surface state suitable for ink-jet printing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-261912

  By the way, a general printing paper is usually coated on the surface by, for example, a mixture of calcium carbonate, kaolin and the like being hardened with a binder. Such a general printing paper is greatly different in the properties of the coating layer on the surface depending on the mixing ratio, binder material, and paper thickness. Further, the mixing ratio, the binder material, and the like vary greatly depending on the type of paper. For this reason, for example, it is necessary to improve the adhesion of water-based ink to the surface of general printing paper according to desired desired quality such as improvement of glossiness, improvement of water resistance, or improvement of scratch resistance. The coating agent to be used needs to be different for each type of printing paper to be coated.

  Therefore, in order to form a coating layer for realizing desired required qualities for various types of paper by the ink jet printer of Patent Document 1, a dedicated coating agent prepared for each paper is stocked. There is a need. However, the stockpile is not easy due to restrictions such as the device size. For this reason, when printing is performed by forming a water-based ink coat corresponding to a desired required quality on each of various types of printing paper with the ink jet printer of Patent Document 1, a request is made every time the paper changes. Each time the quality changes, it is necessary to replace the coating agent stored in the interior, resulting in a problem that productivity is lowered.

  This is not limited to printing on general printing paper such as offset printing paper, but occurs in printing on general printing substrates including paper that has been pre-printed with oil-based ink on laminated paper or offset printing paper. It is a problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet apparatus capable of improving print quality while suppressing a decrease in productivity in printing on various types of substrates by discharging aqueous ink. And

  In order to solve the above-described problem, an ink jet apparatus according to a first aspect includes a storage unit that individually stores a plurality of different candidate materials of a coating liquid that is applied to a substrate to form a coat layer, and the base A selection unit that selects one or more target materials used for preparing the coating liquid from the plurality of candidate materials based on the type of material, and each of the one or more target materials based on the type of the base material About the quantity acquisition part which acquires the quantity used for the preparation of the coating liquid, the mixing part which prepares the coating liquid, and the one or more target materials according to each quantity acquired by the quantity acquisition part A supply unit that supplies the mixing unit to the mixing unit, a coating unit that applies the coating liquid to the substrate, and an inkjet head that discharges ink to the substrate on which the coating solution has been applied, If part, the one or more target material supplied from the supply unit for preparing the coating liquid was mixed with an aqueous medium.

  An ink jet device according to a second aspect is the ink jet device according to the first aspect, wherein the storage portion is at least one of a binder, a fixing agent, a crosslinking agent, an emulsion of inorganic fine particles, and a dispersant. Two are stored as the plurality of candidate materials.

  An ink jet device according to a third aspect is the ink jet device according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a stockpile unit capable of storing the coating liquid prepared by the mixing unit, When the type of the base material is a preset type, at least a part of the coating liquid prepared by the mixing unit with respect to the base material is stored, and the type of the base material is stored in the coating unit. In the case where the kind is set in advance, when the coating liquid corresponding to the base material is stored in the storage part in advance, the coating liquid stored in the storage part is applied to the base material. To do.

An ink jet device according to a fourth aspect is the ink jet device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the ink corresponding to the coating liquid is ejected based on the type of the base material . The ink jet head further includes a parameter obtaining unit that obtains printing parameters related to control, and the ink jet head ejects the ink onto the substrate on which the coating liquid has been applied based on the printing parameters obtained by the parameter obtaining unit.

  An ink jet method according to a fifth aspect includes a storage step of individually storing a plurality of different candidate materials of a coating liquid that is applied to a base material to form a coat layer, and the type of the base material. Based on the selection step of selecting one or more target materials used for the preparation of the coating liquid from the plurality of candidate materials, and for each of the one or more target materials based on the type of the substrate A volume acquisition step for acquiring a volume used for liquid preparation, and a quantity of the one or more target materials and an aqueous medium according to each volume acquired in the volume acquisition step are mixed inside the inkjet device. A mixing step of preparing the coating solution, a coating step of applying the coating solution prepared by the mixing step to the substrate inside the inkjet apparatus, and the coating step To the substrate which the liquid is applied, and a discharge step of discharging the ink within said ink jet apparatus.

  An ink jet method according to a sixth aspect is the ink jet method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the coating step is performed upstream of a preset processing line on which the substrate is transported, and the processing line The discharge process is further performed on the downstream side, and a drying process for drying the coating liquid applied on the substrate is further provided between the application process and the discharge process in the processing line.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of candidate materials for the coating liquid forming the coating layer are individually stored in the ink jet apparatus, and are used for preparing the coating liquid from the plurality of candidate materials based on the type of the substrate. Selection of one or more target materials and acquisition of an amount used for preparation of the coating liquid are performed for each of the one or more target materials. Then, an amount of one or more target materials corresponding to each obtained amount is mixed with an aqueous medium inside the inkjet device to prepare a coating solution, and the prepared coating solution is applied to a substrate, Ink is ejected onto the agent. Therefore, it is possible to improve the printing quality while suppressing a decrease in productivity with respect to a larger number of types of base materials than the number of candidate materials without replacing a plurality of candidate materials of the coating liquid stored therein.

It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the coating device shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows another example of schematic structure of the coating device shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows another example of schematic structure of the application part shown by FIG. 2, FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of schematic structure of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of the inkjet apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, parts having the same configuration and function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted in the following description. Each drawing is schematically shown. For example, the size and positional relationship of display objects in each drawing are not necessarily shown accurately. In FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, three orthogonal XYZ axes are attached for explanation of directions. The X-axis and Z-axis directions are the horizontal direction, and the Y-axis direction is the vertical direction (the + Y side is the upper side).

<A. About Embodiment>
<A-1. About Configuration of Inkjet Device 100A>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an inkjet apparatus 100A according to the embodiment. The ink jet device 100A is a device that prints with ink 9 on the base material 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 by an ink jet method. As the substrate 1, for example, offset printing paper, resin-coated paper, laminated paper, offset printing paper printed with oil-based ink, a film, and the like are assumed. The coating liquid 2 is a liquid that forms an ink receiving layer (also referred to as “coat layer” or “anchor coat layer”) on the substrate 1 for improving the adhesion of the ink 9 to the substrate 1. For example, it contains a hydrophilic binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, an ink fixing agent such as a cationic polymer, a cross-linking agent, or an emulsion of inorganic fine particles having light reflectivity such as silicon or alumina. In the ink receiving layer, fixability of the water-based ink is improved by absorbing the water-based ink into the polymer material and adsorbing the water-based ink into the gaps between the inorganic fine particles. Further, when inorganic fine particles are included, the ink receiving layer has gloss due to regular reflection on the surface of the inorganic fine particles.

  The inkjet apparatus 100A mainly includes, for example, a printing apparatus 41, a drying apparatus 42, a coating apparatus 43A (43B), a conveyance system driving apparatus 44, conveyance rollers 51 and 52, an operation unit 88, a storage unit 89, a control unit 90, and the like. It is prepared for.

  The printing apparatus 41 is configured mainly including the inkjet head 17 and the like. The inkjet head 17 is configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction, and ejects ink 9 by the inkjet method while moving relative to the base material 1 in the Z-axis direction according to control from the control unit 90. By doing so, printing is performed on the substrate 1 to which the coating liquid 2 is applied. As the inkjet head 17, an inkjet head that includes a plurality of nozzles arranged along the Z-axis direction over a length equal to or greater than the width of the substrate 1 and performs printing by discharging ink 9 from the plurality of nozzles is employed. May be. The ink 9 is an aqueous ink such as an aqueous dye ink or an aqueous pigment ink, for example.

  The drying device 42 mainly includes, for example, a not-shown blower and a heater. The drying device 42 dries the coating liquid 2 by blowing warm air on the coating liquid 2 applied on the substrate 1 in accordance with control from the control unit 90. The dried coating liquid 2 forms an ink receiving layer on the substrate 1.

  The coating device 43 </ b> A (43 </ b> B) includes a coating unit that coats the base material 1 with the coating liquid 2. Note that, for example, any one of the coating device 43A (FIG. 2) and the coating device 43B (FIG. 3) is adopted as the coating device of the ink jet device 100A, so that the usefulness of the present invention is not impaired. The coating device 43 </ b> A (43 </ b> B) applies the coating liquid 2 on the substrate 1 according to control from the control unit 90 while the coating unit moves in the X-axis direction relative to the substrate 1. Then, a coating film of the coating solution 2 is formed on the substrate 1. The application unit is realized by, for example, an application unit 35A (FIGS. 2 and 3) mainly including the application nozzle 15 and the support roller 16. The coating device 43A (43B) will be described later.

  The transport system drive device 44 is mainly configured by an actuator (not shown) such as a motor and a power transmission system. The transport system driving device 44 drives the transport roller 51 (52) and rotates it in the direction of the arrow R1 (R2) according to the control from the control unit 90, whereby the substrate 1 is printed by the printing device 41 and the drying device 42. And relative to the coating device 43A (43B) in the -X direction. Note that the base material 1 has one end wound around the conveyance roller 51 and fixed, and the other end is wound around the conveyance roller 52 and fixed, so that the substrate 1 is stretched from the conveyance roller 51 to the conveyance roller 52. Has been.

  The substrate 1 is fed from the transport roller 51 by the transport roller 51 rotating in the direction of the arrow R1, and then wound around the transport roller 52 by the rotation of the transport roller 52 in the direction of the arrow R2. That is, the transport system driving device 44 is a transport mechanism that transports the base material 1 along a preset processing line. Further, the coating device 43A (43B) and the inkjet head 17, that is, the printing device 41 are respectively arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the processing line. The drying device 42 is located between the upstream coating device 43A (43B) and the downstream inkjet head 17 in the processing line. That is, the drying process of the coating liquid 2 by the drying apparatus 42 is between the coating process of the coating liquid 2 by the coating apparatus 43A (43B) in the processing line and the ejection process of the ink 9 by the inkjet head 17 in the processing line. It is a process performed.

  The operation unit 88 includes an operation button, a touch panel type display unit, and the like. When the operator operates the operation unit 88, the input of the type of the base material 1 and the glossiness about the printing result for the base material 1 are provided. Input of required quality such as improvement of water resistance, improvement of water resistance or improvement of scratching, instruction of various operations related to the ink jet apparatus 100A, and setting of various parameters related to the operation.

  The storage unit 89 includes, for example, a readable / writable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk device, and the like, and permanently records information such as various control parameters and various operation modes of the ink jet device 100A. The storage unit 89 stores a table 101.

  The table 101 is used for each of various preset finish required qualities (“required quality”) such as improvement of glossiness, improvement of water resistance, or improvement of scratch resistance of the printing result on the substrate 1. Is a table showing the correspondence between the type of the base material and one or more materials (“target material”) used for preparing the coating liquid for forming the anchor coat layer corresponding to the required quality with respect to the type of the base material is there. Accordingly, the one or more target materials are changed according to the type of substrate and the required quality. The table 101 associates each of the one or more target materials with a mixing ratio when mixed with an aqueous medium such as water or an aqueous solution in which a water-soluble organic solvent is dissolved in water for preparing a coating solution. ing. Instead of the mixing ratio, an index value that is physically or mathematically equivalent to the mixing ratio may be used. The table 101 is determined in advance by an experiment or a simulation defining a model and stored in the storage unit 89.

  The control unit 90 is configured by a general microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and includes a printing device 41, a drying device 42, a coating device 43A (43B), a transport system driving device 44, an operation unit 88, and Each of the storage units 89 is electrically connected. The control unit 90 controls operation of the entire ink jet apparatus 100A by controlling each part of the ink jet apparatus 100A at a predetermined timing in accordance with a software program stored in advance.

<A-2. About the configuration of the coating device>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the coating apparatus 43A illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of the coating apparatus 43B illustrated in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coating device 43A mainly includes a storage unit 30, a stock solution supply unit 33, a mixer 13, a buffer tank 14, a coating solution supply unit 34, a coating unit 35A, an aqueous medium supply unit 39, and the like. It is prepared for. As shown in FIG. 3, the coating device 43B includes a storage unit 30, a stock solution supply unit 33, a mixer 13, a buffer tank 14, a storage tank 20, a coating solution supply unit 34, a coating unit 35A, and an aqueous medium supply. The unit 39 is mainly provided.

○ About the reservoir 30:
The reservoir 30 (FIGS. 2 and 3) individually stores a plurality of different candidate materials for the coating liquid that is discharged onto the substrate 1 and forms an anchor coat layer on the substrate 1. FIG. 30 illustrates three tanks 21 a to 21 c among a plurality of tanks as tanks for storing a plurality of candidate materials in the storage unit 30, and among a plurality of candidate materials stored in the storage unit 30. Three candidate materials 5 to 7 respectively stored in the tanks 21a to 21c are illustrated. Each of the plurality of candidate materials is liquid.

  As the plurality of candidate materials, for example, a binder, an ink fixing agent, a crosslinking agent, an inorganic fine particle emulsion, a dispersing agent, and the like are assumed. In addition, only one type of each chemical solution such as a binder, an ink fixing agent, a cross-linking agent, an inorganic fine particle emulsion, and a dispersing agent may be stored in the storage unit 30. A plurality of different types may be stored in the storage unit 30 such that the alcohol and the water-soluble acrylic resin are stored. A plurality of types may be stored only for some types of chemicals. The storage unit 30 stores, as a plurality of candidate materials, a plurality of chemical solutions including at least a fixing agent among chemical solutions of a binder, a fixing agent, a crosslinking agent, an inorganic fine particle emulsion, and a dispersing agent.

  As the binder, for example, an aqueous solution of a hydrophilic binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, or polyethylene oxide, a urethane resin, an acrylic resin, or the like is employed. As the fixing agent, for example, a solution of a cationic polymer (quaternary ammonia compound or the like) is employed. Moreover, when polyvinyl alcohol is employ | adopted as a binder, adipic acid dihydrazide is employ | adopted as a crosslinking agent, for example.

  The emulsion of inorganic fine particles is an emulsion of inorganic fine particles such as silicon or alumina having light reflectivity. The inorganic fine particles give a predetermined visual action such as making the observer feel glossy due to the light reflectivity. Moreover, this emulsion can be easily obtained as commercial items, such as colloidal silica, for example. The smaller the average particle size of the inorganic fine particles contained in the coating liquid 2 (FIGS. 2 and 3), the greater the glossiness of the ink receiving layer formed on the substrate 1 by applying the coating liquid 2. When the emulsion of a plurality of inorganic fine particles is stored in the storage unit 30, those having different average particle sizes are stored. In this case, not only the average particle diameter but also different inorganic fine particles may be stored, or the same type and different average particle diameter may be stored. By changing the mixing ratio between the stored emulsions having different average particle sizes, the average particle size of the inorganic fine particles contained in the coating liquid 2 can be freely changed between the maximum and minimum average particle sizes. The

  Based on the type of the base material 1, one or more target materials used for the preparation of the coating liquid 2 are selected by the control of the control unit 90 and selected from the plurality of candidate materials stored in the storage unit 30. For each of the one or more target materials, the amount used for preparing the coating liquid 2 is acquired by the control unit 90.

○ About the stock solution supply unit 33:
The stock solution supply unit (also referred to as “supply unit” or “candidate material supply unit”) 33 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is one or more selected by the control unit 90 according to each quantity acquired by the control unit 90 Are supplied from the reservoir 30 to the mixer 13. Specifically, the stock solution supply unit 33 mainly includes, for example, a pair of a pump and a mass flow controller corresponding to each tank provided in the storage unit 30. . In the example of FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of the pump 11a and the mass flow controller 12a, a pair of the pump 11b and the mass flow controller 12b, and a pair of the pump 11c and the mass flow controller 12c are shown. By controlling the pump and the mass flow controller according to the control from the control unit 90, one or more selected target materials are respectively supplied to the mixer 13 via the raw solution supply pipe. 2 and 3 illustrate stock solution supply pipes 83a to 83c.

  In addition, the supply amount per unit time of each target material can be adjusted by the control unit 90 setting the supply amount per unit time of each target material by each mass flow controller in each mass flow controller.

  Instead of the pump, for example, a configuration in which each stock solution is pumped to the mixer 13 by feeding nitrogen gas or air into each tank in the storage unit 30 to increase the pressure in the tank may be employed. . Further, instead of the mass flow controller, for example, an electric valve capable of adjusting the opening of the valve by control from the control unit 90 may be employed.

○ About the aqueous medium supply unit 39:
The aqueous medium supply unit 39 (FIGS. 2 and 3) mainly includes a pair of a pump and a mass flow controller, for example. The aqueous medium supply unit 39 supplies, for example, an aqueous medium prepared in advance at a user factory or the like where the inkjet apparatus is installed via a pipe (not shown), and supplies the supplied aqueous medium to the control unit 90. The amount is adjusted in accordance with the control and supplied to the mixer 13. The aqueous medium is water (pure water) or an aqueous solution in which a water-soluble organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol or butanediol is dissolved in water (pure water). The configuration of the aqueous medium supply unit 39 is not limited to the configuration in which the aqueous medium is supplied from the outside of the apparatus. For example, the aqueous medium supply unit 39 may include a tank that stores at least a part of the material of the aqueous medium supplied to the mixer 13.

○ About the mixer 13:
The mixer (“mixing unit”) 13 (FIGS. 2 and 3) includes a stirrer (not shown) such as a stirrer bar or a stirring propeller, for example. The mixer 13 prepares the coating liquid 2 by mixing one or more target materials supplied from the stock solution supply unit 33 with an aqueous medium supplied from the aqueous medium supply unit 39. The obtained coating liquid 2 is supplied to the buffer tank 14 via the main pipe 84. The stirrer provided in the mixer 13 is a stirrer that promotes the preparation of the coating liquid 2 by stirring the target material supplied to the mixer 13 and mixed with the aqueous medium.

○ About coating liquid 2:
The coating liquid 2 (FIGS. 2 and 3) prepared in the mixer 13 is a coating liquid for forming an ink receiving layer on the substrate 1 by being coated on the substrate 1 and dried. The quantity ratio (volume ratio, weight ratio) of each target material in the coating liquid 2 is adjusted to a preset value by the control unit 90 controlling the stock solution supply unit 33.

○ About buffer tank 14:
The buffer tank 14 (FIGS. 2 and 3) is a tank that temporarily stores the coating liquid 2 prepared in the mixer 13. The buffer tank 14 is applied by the difference between the amount of the application liquid 2 supplied to the buffer tank 14 and the amount of the application liquid 2 supplied from the buffer tank 14 to the application unit 35A. It is installed to prevent 2 shortages. The coating liquid 2 stored in the buffer tank 14 is supplied to the coating unit 35 </ b> A through the main pipe 85.

○ About the stockpile tank 20:
The applicator 43B is provided with a stockpile tank (“stockpile unit”) 20. The storage tank 20 can store the coating liquid 2 prepared by the mixer 13. The storage tank 20 is at least a part of the coating liquid 2 prepared by the mixer 13 with respect to the substrate 1 when the type of the substrate 1 is a preset type according to the control of the control unit 90. To store. And in the case where the coating liquid 43 corresponding to the base material 1 is stored in advance in the storage tank 20 when the type of the base material 1 is the preset type, the coating device 43A (43B) The coating liquid 2 stored in the storage tank 20 is applied to the substrate 1. The coating device 43 </ b> B is provided with on / off valves 91 to 94 that are controlled to be opened and closed by the control unit 90. The on-off valves 91 and 92 are provided in the paths of the main pipes 84 respectively connecting the mixer 13 and the buffer tank 14 and the mixer 13 and the storage tank 20, and the on-off valves 93 and 94 are supplied with the buffer tank 14 and the supply liquid. Part 34, the storage tank 20, and the coating liquid supply part 34 are respectively provided in the paths of the main pipes 85. The coating liquid 2 stored in the mixer 13 is supplied to the buffer tank 14 and the storage tank 20 selectively or simultaneously by the controller 90 controlling the on-off valves 91 and 92. Further, the control liquid 90 is supplied from the buffer tank 14 and the storage tank 20 to the coating liquid supply section 34 selectively or simultaneously from the both by controlling the on-off valves 93 and 94.

○ About the coating liquid supply unit 34:
The coating liquid supply unit 34 (FIGS. 2 and 3) mainly includes, for example, a pair of a pump 11d and a mass flow controller 12d. The coating liquid supply unit 34 applies the coating liquid 2 via the main pipe 85 so that the coating liquid 2 once stored in the buffer tank 14 is applied from the coating nozzle 15 (FIG. 3) of the coating unit 35A. To the application nozzle 15. The supply amount of the coating liquid 2 by the mass flow controller 12d per unit time is controlled by setting the supply amount from the control unit 90.

○ About application part 35A (35B):
The application part 35A (FIGS. 2 and 3) is mainly configured by including an application nozzle 15 and a support roller 16, and applies the application liquid 2 to the substrate 1. The base material 1 transported by the transport rollers 51 and 52 (FIG. 1) is transported in the −X direction with respect to the coating unit 35A while being supported by the support roller 16 configured to be rotatable in the arrow R3 direction. As the coating nozzle 15, for example, a nozzle mechanism in a linear coater (registered trademark) manufactured by Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is employed. The coating nozzle 15 discharges the coating liquid 2 in a curtain shape along the Z-axis direction according to the width of the base material 1 in the Z-axis direction, and the upper surface of the base material 1 is relative to the base material 1 in the + X direction. Scan automatically. By this scanning, the coating liquid 2 is coated on the substrate 1 to form a coating film.

  The thickness of the applied coating film before drying is, for example, about 10 μm, and the weight of the coating solution per square meter is about 10 g.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an application unit 35B as another example of the application unit 35A illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The application unit 35 </ b> B mainly includes a gravure roller 18, a pressing roller 19, and an application liquid pan 37 that stores the application liquid 2 supplied from the buffer tank 14.

  In the coating unit 35B, the gravure roller 18 has a large number of holes on the surface thereof, and the amount of the coating liquid 2 held on the surface can be changed by changing the size and depth of the holes. The gravure roller 18 is moved in the direction of the arrow R4 by a driving mechanism (not shown) controlled by the control unit 90 so that the conveyance speed of the base material 1 in the direction of the arrow Y1 is equal to the rotational movement speed of the surface of the gravure roller 18. It is rotated. Then, the gravure roller 18 holds the coating liquid 2 stored in the coating liquid pan 37 on its surface in accordance with the rotation, and applies the held coating liquid 2 to the substrate 1 in contact with the gravure roller 18. Further, the pressing roller 19 is rotated in the direction of the arrow R5 so that the surface speed thereof becomes equal to the surface speed of the gravure roller 18. The pressing roller 19 is configured to press and support the substrate 1 against the gravure roller 18 so that the coating liquid 2 held on the gravure roller 18 is applied to the substrate 1.

  Therefore, even if, for example, the application part 35B is employed instead of the application part 35A, the usefulness of the present invention is not impaired. When the application unit 35B is employed instead of the application unit 35A, the application liquid supply unit 34 is provided between the buffer tank 14 and the application liquid pan 37.

<A-3. Operation of Inkjet Device 100A>
6-8 is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement flow of 100 A of inkjet apparatuses which concern on embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 6 illustrates an operation flow S100 related to the start of printing by the inkjet apparatus 100A, and FIG. 7 illustrates an operation flow S200 related to the end of printing. FIG. 8 illustrates a detailed operation flow of the process of step S112 of FIG. Hereinafter, the operation of the ink jet apparatus 100A will be described with reference to FIGS.

○ Regarding the operation of the ink jet apparatus 100A regarding the start of printing:
The control unit 90 of the ink jet apparatus 100A (FIG. 1) waits for various instruction signals input from the operation unit 88 in a state where the power is turned on (step S110 in FIG. 6), and a print instruction instructing the start of printing. When the signal is received, the process proceeds to the print preparation process in step S112.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in step S112, first, an operation for specifying paper information indicating the type of the base material 1 and an operation for specifying required quality information (print quality information) indicating print quality are performed by the operation unit 88. Is accepted (step S310). The control unit 90 acquires paper type information from the operation unit 88 (step S320) and also acquires required quality information (step S330). If the required quality information is always constant, such as improvement in water resistance, the process of step S330 is omitted.

  In the present invention, the term “type of base material” refers to a base having the same name manufactured by the same manufacturer as well as a base having the same name. Even if it is a material, if the production lots are different, they are usually of different types. Normally, even if the product model number is the same, if the production lot is different, the printing-related characteristics are greatly different. Therefore, in the inkjet device 100A, the difference in the lot can be recognized as the difference in the type of the substrate. However, even if the control unit 90 recognizes the same type when the production lots are different, the usefulness of the present invention is not impaired.

  Next, the control unit 90 uses one or more objects used to prepare the coating liquid 2 from a plurality of candidate materials stored in the storage unit 30 based on the type of the base material 1 acquired and recognized in step S320. A material is selected (step S340). And the control part 90 acquires each quantity used for preparation of the coating liquid 2 about each of one or more selected target material based on the kind of base material 1 (step S350). Furthermore, the control unit 90 acquires supply order information that defines the supply order to the mixer 13 for each of the selected one or more target materials (step S360).

  The control unit 90 performs the processes in steps S340 to S350 described above with reference to the table 101 stored in the storage unit 89. As described above, the table 101 includes, for each of the various required qualities for the printing result for the base material 1, the type of the base material and the anchor coat layer corresponding to the required quality for the type of the base material. Correspondences with one or more target materials used in the preparation of a coating solution to be formed are shown. Further, the table 101 is associated with a mixing ratio or the like when each of the one or more target materials is mixed with an aqueous medium in the mixer 13 in order to prepare a coating solution. Therefore, the control unit 90 refers to the table 101, and corresponds to the request information and the type of the substrate based on the acquired request information and the type of the substrate, that is, based on the type of the substrate. By specifying the above target materials, the processing of steps S340 to S350 can be performed.

Next, based on the recognized type of the substrate 1, the control unit 90 acquires printing parameters relating to the control of ink ejection corresponding to the coating liquid 2 by the inkjet head 17 (step S370). The print parameters are, for example, the amount of ink ejected per unit time, the adhesion density of ink ejected per unit area, and dot control information. The print parameters are recorded in the table 101, for example. The table 101 shows the correspondence between the type of base material and one or more target materials corresponding to the type. Then, necessary printing parameters are recorded in association with the one or more target materials, that is, in association with the coating liquid 2 corresponding to the substrate 1. The print parameter may be stored in the storage unit 89 as information other than the table 101. Further, the ink jet head 17 discharges the ink 9 to the base material 1 to which the coating liquid 2 is applied based on the printing parameters acquired by the control unit 90.

  Returning to FIG. 6, when the print preparation process in step S <b> 112 is completed, the control unit 90 controls the transport system driving device 44, so that the transport system driving device 44 rotates the transport rollers 51 and 52 and the substrate 1. The conveyance is started (step S120).

  Next, the control unit 90 starts the preparation process of the coating solution 2 by controlling the stock solution supply unit 33 of the coating apparatus 43A (43B) (step S130 in FIG. 6). When the preparation process of the coating liquid 2 is started, the coating process of the coating liquid 2 on the substrate 1 by the coating unit 35A is started (step S140 in FIG. 6). Next, the control unit 90 controls the drying device 42 to start the drying process of the base material 1 coated with the coating liquid 2 (step S150 in FIG. 6). By the drying, an ink receiving layer is formed on the substrate 1 by drying the coating film coated with the coating liquid 2. Next, the control unit 90 starts the printing process by starting the ejection of the ink 9 onto the substrate 1 on which the ink receiving layer is formed by controlling the printing device 41 (step S160 in FIG. 6). Then, the printing start process in the ink jet apparatus 100A is finished. The operation of each part of the ink jet apparatus 100A started in each step of the operation flow S100 is continuously performed until the process is finished by the control unit 90 in each step of the operation flow S200 shown in FIG. . By this operation, the preparation process of the coating liquid 2, the coating process of the coating liquid 2 on the substrate 1, the drying process of the substrate 1, and the printing process by discharging the ink 9 onto the substrate 1 are continuously performed. .

○ Regarding the operation of the inkjet apparatus 100A regarding the end of printing:
After the printing process on the base material 1 is started by the operation flow S100 (FIG. 6), the control unit 90 determines the timing when printing of a predetermined number of printed materials set at the start is completed, for example, the count of the number of printing copies. It waits by performing etc. (step S210 of FIG. 7). When the printing end condition is satisfied, the control unit 90 first controls the stock solution supply unit 33 to end the preparation process of the coating solution 2 (step S220 in FIG. 7). Next, the control unit 90 controls the stock solution supply unit 33 (coating solution supply unit 34) to finish the coating process of the coating solution 2 on the base material 1 by the coating unit 35A (step S230 in FIG. 7). Further, the control unit 90 controls the drying device 42 to end the drying process of the base material 1 by the drying device 42 (step S240 in FIG. 7), and controls the printing device 41 to control the base material 1 by the printing device 41. The printing process is terminated (step S250 in FIG. 7).

  When the printing process is completed, the control unit 90 controls the conveyance system drive device 44 to stop the conveyance rollers 51 and 52 and terminate the conveyance of the base material 1 (step S260 in FIG. 7), and the inkjet apparatus. The printing end process of 100A is ended. The coating liquid 2 preparation process, the coating liquid 2 coating process on the base material 1, the base material 1 drying process, and the printing on the base material 1, which have been continuously performed by the completion of the printing termination process, respectively. Each process is terminated. As described above with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, in the ink jet apparatus 100 </ b> A, the application unit 35 </ b> A (35 </ b> B) is the base material of the application liquid 2 in accordance with the printing operation of the printing apparatus 41, that is, the printing operation of the ink jet head 17. 1 is applied. Therefore, since it is not necessary to have a space for storing the base material 1 on which the ink receiving layer is formed in the ink jet apparatus 100A, it is possible to save the space of the ink jet apparatus 100A.

  Further, in the ink jet apparatus 100A, the application of the coating liquid 2 and the discharge of the ink 9 are sequentially performed on the substrate 1 as the substrate 1 is conveyed along a preset processing line. ing.

  According to the inkjet device according to the embodiment configured as described above, a plurality of candidate materials of the coating liquid for forming the coat layer are individually stored inside the inkjet device, and the plurality of materials are based on the type of the substrate. The selection of one or more target materials used for the preparation of the coating liquid from the candidate materials and acquisition of the amount used for the preparation of the coating liquid for each of the one or more target materials. Then, an amount of one or more target materials corresponding to each obtained amount is mixed with an aqueous medium inside the inkjet device to prepare a coating solution, and the prepared coating solution is applied to a substrate, Ink is ejected onto the agent. Therefore, it is possible to improve the printing quality while suppressing a decrease in productivity with respect to a larger number of types of base materials than the number of candidate materials without replacing a plurality of candidate materials of the coating liquid stored therein.

  Moreover, according to the inkjet apparatus according to the embodiment configured as described above, when the type of the base material 1 is a preset type, the coating liquid prepared by the mixer 13 for the base material Is stored in advance in the storage tank 20. And when the kind of base material 1 is the said preset kind and the coating liquid corresponding to the base material 1 is previously stored in the stockpile tank 20, the coating device 43A is stored in the stockpile tank 20. The stored coating solution is applied to the substrate 1. Accordingly, since frequently used printing paper is stored in the storage unit 89 as a preset type and printing processing can be performed more quickly depending on the depth, a reduction in productivity can be further suppressed.

Further, according to the ink jet apparatus according to the embodiment configured as described above, print parameters related to the control of ink ejection corresponding to the coating liquid are acquired based on the type of the substrate , and based on the print parameters. Ink is ejected onto the substrate coated with the coating liquid. Therefore, the printing process corresponding to the coating layer formed on the base material 1 is performed without separately providing information on the coating layer formed on the base material 1 to the printing apparatus 41 including the inkjet head 17. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the processing cost by eliminating waste in information processing in the ink jet apparatus 100A.

<B. About modification>
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of an inkjet apparatus 100B according to a modification. The ink jet device 100B is a device that discharges the ink 9 (FIG. 1) to each of the so-called single-wafer type substrates 1 on which the coating liquid 2 (FIG. 1) is applied. The difference between the ink jet device 100B and the ink jet device 100A (FIG. 1) is that the ink jet device 100B is further provided with a paper discharge device 45 and a paper feed device 46, and a transport belt 55 is adopted as a transport system for the substrate 1. It is that you are. In FIG. 5, descriptions of the operation unit 88 and the control unit 90 are omitted. The paper feeding device 46 includes a plurality of base materials 1, and the base material 1 is fed onto the conveying belt 55 from the paper feeding device 46 by a single wafer type. The base material 1 printed by the printing device 41 is separated from the transport belt 55 by, for example, being sucked by the paper discharge device 45 and stored in a paper discharge tray in the paper discharge device 45.

  For example, even if the ink jet device 100B is employed instead of the ink jet device 100A, the usefulness of the present invention is not impaired. When an ink jet apparatus that performs printing in a sheet-fed manner is employed, the printing apparatus 41 and the coating apparatus 43A (43B) print the ink 9 on the base material 1 that is transported by different transport systems. And the structure which each performs application | coating of the coating liquid 2 may be employ | adopted.

100A, 100B Inkjet device 1 Substrate 2 Coating solution 9 Ink 13 Mixer (mixing unit)
14 Buffer Tank 15 Application Nozzle 16 Support Roller 17 Inkjet Head 20 Stockpile Tank (Stockpile Section)
30 Reservation part 33 Stock solution supply part (supply part)
34 Coating solution supply unit 35A, 35B Coating unit 37 Coating solution pan 39 Aqueous medium supply unit 51, 52 Conveying roller 55 Conveying belt

Claims (6)

A storage unit that individually stores a plurality of different candidate materials of a coating solution that is applied to a substrate to form a coat layer;
A selection unit that selects one or more target materials used for preparing the coating liquid from the plurality of candidate materials based on the type of the base material;
Based on the type of the base material, for each of the one or more target materials, a quantity acquisition unit that acquires a quantity used for preparing the coating liquid;
A mixing section for preparing the coating solution;
A supply unit that supplies the one or more target materials from the storage unit to the mixing unit according to each of the quantities acquired by the quantity acquisition unit;
An application part for applying the application liquid to the substrate;
An inkjet head that ejects ink onto the substrate on which the coating liquid has been applied;
With
The mixing unit includes:
An ink jet apparatus for preparing the coating liquid by mixing the one or more target materials supplied from the supply unit with an aqueous medium. The inkjet apparatus according to claim 1,
The reservoir is
An inkjet apparatus that stores at least two of a binder, a fixing agent, a crosslinking agent, an emulsion of inorganic fine particles, and a dispersant as the plurality of candidate materials. An ink jet device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
A storage unit capable of storing the coating liquid prepared by the mixing unit;
The stockpile section is
When the type of the base material is a preset type, at least a part of the coating liquid prepared by the mixing unit with respect to the base material is stored,
The application part is
When the type of the base material is the preset type, and the application liquid corresponding to the base material is stored in the storage part in advance, the application liquid stored in the storage part An ink jet apparatus for applying the ink to the substrate. An inkjet apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
Based on the type of the base material , further comprising a parameter acquisition unit that acquires print parameters related to the discharge control corresponding to the coating liquid of the ink,
The inkjet head is
An inkjet apparatus that ejects the ink onto the base material on which the coating liquid has been applied based on the printing parameters acquired by the parameter acquisition unit. A storage step of individually storing a plurality of different candidate materials of the coating liquid applied to the base material to form a coat layer inside the inkjet device,
A selection step of selecting one or more target materials used for preparing the coating liquid from the plurality of candidate materials based on the type of the base material;
Based on the type of the base material, for each of the one or more target materials, a quantity obtaining step for obtaining a quantity used for preparing the coating liquid;
A mixing step of preparing the coating liquid by mixing the one or more target materials and an aqueous medium in an amount corresponding to each amount acquired in the amount acquisition step inside the inkjet device;
An application step of applying the coating solution prepared by the mixing step to the substrate inside the inkjet device;
An ejection step of ejecting ink inside the inkjet device to the base material coated with the coating liquid;
An inkjet method comprising: The inkjet method according to claim 5, wherein
While the application step is performed on the upstream side of a preset processing line in which the substrate is conveyed,
The discharge step is performed downstream of the processing line;
A drying step of drying the coating solution applied on the substrate between the coating step and the discharging step in the processing line;
An inkjet method further comprising:

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