Ink Jet: Ink Properties and Ink Drop Spreading at Paper Surface

Since the beginning of the use of SOHO (small office, home office) ink jet processes, the aim of any development is to improve print quality on plain paper. Indeed, the use of water-based inks generates problems of ink spreading, which deteriorate the visual quality of prints. To better understand these phenomena, we focused on the physicochemical properties of commercial inks. 23 inks were selected among the commercial suppliers. The following properties were analysed: 1.pH, 2.Conductivity, 3.Charge density, 4.Viscosity, 5.Surface tension, 6.Contact angle. Finally, the behaviour of the 23 inks on four different kinds of paper was observed to connect ink properties to ink spreading. The results presented in this paper constitute the first step of a wider study on ink / paper interactions in ink jet printing.