JP2003211828A - Inkjet image recording material and method for image recording - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet image recording material on which an image with a high quality can be rapidly and efficiently recorded and especially, such an image with a high quality that is comparable to a print obtained by a silver salt color sensitized material can be recorded, and a method for image recording. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet image recording material in which an ink image receiving layer 6 consisting of at least one layer is provided on a substrate 2 and an image protective layer 8 and/or an overcoat layer 10 are provided on the ink image receiving layer 6 and a wetting agent is incorporated in at least one layer among the ink image receiving layer 6, the image protective layer 8 and the overcoat layer 10 except the outermost layer, is provided. It is preferable that a gelatin or a modified gelatin and its crosslinking curing agent are incorporated in either one of the layers. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet image recording material, and more particularly, to a recording droplet ejected from an ejection port of a recording head based on image information, for example, image information from a color photographic film. The present invention relates to an inkjet image recording material used in an inkjet image recording method for recording an image and an inkjet image recording method using the inkjet image recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art High-quality, general-purpose, low-cost color images in the production of color images using silver salt color sensitive materials and digitization of image production have enabled electrostatic transfer systems, sublimation heat transfer systems, inkjet systems, etc. Full-color image creation methods are rapidly becoming popular. The method using a silver salt color sensitive material is excellent in image quality such as color reproducibility, image sharpness, image density, glossiness, and image durability, and is one of the goals of developing an inkjet method. There is.

The ink jet system is relatively easy to realize full color by inputting digital information of a color original image, selection of ink species, etc., and is advantageous in that printing noise is relatively low as compared with other systems. However, the ink used contains a relatively large amount of water or solvent, and its droplets are absorbed and removed, beading of continuous ejection of droplets of fine units, prevention of sharpness deterioration due to bleeding, and silver salt color feeling. Unlike image formation in a material film, image formation is performed by ejecting an ink containing a dissolved or dispersed dye, and it is particularly required to protect the image and improve durability.

Conventionally, a general paper and a sheet further provided with a waterproof resin layer have been used as a substrate of the recording support. Examples of such a substrate include, for example, JP-A-59-226.
Examples thereof include a printed sheet described in No. 83. Further, a resin film, for example, a polyester described in JP-A-59-222381, a transparent film of cellulose acetate, a film filled with a white pigment, a synthetic paper, or the like is used. A transparent or opaque substrate described in JP-A No. 11-5362, which is integrated with a layer provided on the surface of an ink-absorbent paper, a porous resin film, or the like to improve the ink absorbency and heat. Depending on the treatment, it is used as an oxygen barrier support.

JP-A-59-222381, JP-A-59
-22683, JP-A-8-2090, JP-A-9-1
04163, JP-A-11-5362, and JP-A-2000.
-43368, JP-A-2000-43369, etc.
It is described that an image protective layer is further provided on the ink image receiving layer. The ink image receiving layer is disclosed in JP-A-7-237348.
No. 9-104163, No. 11-5362.
No. 5,474,843, US Pat. No. 5,789,070, etc., use a hydrophilic binder that easily permeates ink and a porous substance that easily absorbs ink, It is described that an inorganic pigment, an organic solvent, or a substance for precipitating and immobilizing a dye for adsorbing and immobilizing a dye is used. Further, EP1060901A2 describes a method of improving defects of the image recording material by using an organic mordant.

Further, JP-A-59-215885, JP-A-59-103782 and the like disclose a protective layer formed by laminating coating on the surface of an ink image-receiving layer, and JP-A-62-62.
-59076, JP-A-62-56184 and the like, especially JP-A-1-291990, describe that a protective layer is provided on the surface of the ink image-receiving layer by laminate coating, polymer solution coating or extrusion method. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-225695 describes a method of ejecting droplets for protecting the formed image by an inkjet to attach the formed image to the image forming surface. In this method, the durability of the surface of the recording material before heat treatment is not sufficient, and improvement in this durability is desired.

JP-A-7-237348 and JP-A-8-2
No. 090 and JP-A No. 2000-43368 also describe a method in which a porous polymer layer is used for image formation and then heat treatment is performed to provide a protective layer. However, in this method, the method of providing the image protective layer after the image formation is not preferable in terms of the number of steps and the manufacturing cost.

[0008]

In the method of using a mordant of an ink dye in the ink image-receiving layer, it is necessary to fix the ink dye and at the same time to perform absorption treatment at a speed similar to the fixing speed. There is a method of using an absorption layer containing an inorganic pigment, but it is not sufficient, so that image bleeding and stains are likely to occur, and there is a problem in the hue and storability of the dye. There is also a method using an adsorbing inorganic pigment of an ink dye. This method can form images of higher image quality than the polymer using the mordant, but is inferior in glossiness of the image surface, image strength, and storability. As a method for solving these problems, there is a method of using a thermoplastic resin or a latex thereof in the ink image receiving layer, and particularly a method of providing an image protective layer on the ink image receiving layer. This method impairs ink permeability and is insufficient in image quality, surface glossiness, and physical strength of the coating surface as a recording material.

As a recording element using a mordant of an ink dye in the ink image receiving layer, an ink absorbing layer is provided on the support described in the above-mentioned EP106090A1-2, and a hydrophilic polymer is provided on the ink receiving layer. It is described that the drying time is shortened and the gloss is improved by providing a top layer made of gelatin and its cross-linking hardener. However, this method has a problem that the recording material is storable, and in particular, when the recording material is roll-shaped and the front surface and the back surface thereof are strongly pressed against each other, scratches and the like are likely to occur on the ink image receiving layer surface.

The object of the present invention is that it can be effectively applied to an ink jet printing system and that it can quickly and efficiently record high quality images, and in particular it has a high quality comparable to prints obtained by silver salt color sensitive materials. To provide an ink jet image recording material and an image recording method capable of recording the image.

[0011]

The above-mentioned objects of the present invention are achieved by the following inventions. (1) The ink image receiving layer, wherein an ink image receiving layer consisting of at least one layer is provided on a support, and an image protective layer and / or an overcoat layer are provided on the ink image receiving layer, excluding the outermost layer. An ink jet image recording material comprising a wetting agent in at least one of the image protective layer and the overcoat layer. (2) Gelatin and / or at least one of the layers
Alternatively, the inkjet image recording material according to (1), which contains modified gelatin and a cross-linking curing agent thereof. (3) The overcoat layer comprises at least two layers, and the outermost layer thereof contains a hydrophilic polymer, gelatin and / or modified gelatin, and a cross-linking curing agent for these (1) or The inkjet image recording material according to (2). (4) An image recording method using the inkjet image recording material according to any one of (1) to (3). According to the inkjet image recording material of (1), an ink image receiving layer,
The wetting agent contained in either the image protective layer and / or the overcoat layer promotes the permeability of the ink to improve the glossiness of the surface and the image quality. According to the inkjet image recording material of (2), the protection of the layer of the ink image-receiving layer is enhanced, the weather resistance of the image and the storage stability are improved by using gelatin and / or modified gelatin and their cross-linking curing agents. (3)
According to the inkjet image recording material, the uppermost layer contains a hydrophilic polymer, gelatin and / or modified gelatin, and a cross-linking / hardening agent thereof, thereby improving the ink permeability and the image quality. According to the image recording method of (4), it can be effectively applied to an inkjet printing system, and a high-quality image can be recorded quickly and efficiently.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The present invention provides the above-mentioned ink image-receiving layer, image, in which an ink image-receiving layer comprising at least one layer is provided on a support, and an image protective layer and / or an overcoat layer are provided on the ink image-receiving layer, excluding the outermost layer. At least one of the protective layer and the overcoat layer contains a wetting agent. The ink image receiving layer may be a single layer or two or more layers. The ink image-receiving layer includes (1) a mode having only an image protective layer, (2) a mode having an image protective layer and an overcoat layer, (3) a mode having only an overcoat layer, but the outermost side. However, it is desirable to have an overcoat layer. The wetting agent may be contained in the ink image receiving layer, the image protective layer, or the overcoat layer. However, the wetting agent is
It is contained in layers other than the outermost side of the inkjet image recording material.

Accordingly, when the outermost side of the ink jet image recording material is the image protective layer, the wetting agent is contained in the ink image receiving layer, and when the outermost side is the overcoat layer, the wetting agent is contained in the image protective layer, and When the overcoat layer is contained on the ink image-receiving layer, it is desirable that at least two overcoat layers are formed, and the wetting agent is contained in the outermost overcoat layer.

In the present invention, the humectant means a component having a property of making ink easily wet. In the present invention, in particular, polyhydric alcohol or its derivative, glycerol or its derivative, glycerin or its derivative, diethylene glycol, triethylene. Examples thereof include derivatives such as glycol, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and triethysan glycol monobutyl ether. In the layer containing these wetting agents, the permeability of the ink is promoted, the drying speed of the ink is increased, and the transportability of the image recording material is improved.

When a wetting agent is contained in the uppermost layer of the two-layer overcoat layer, when the image recording material is stored in a roll form, an adhesion phenomenon occurs between the image recording materials and a scratch or the like occurs on the image surface. Likely to happen. Therefore, in the case of an overcoat layer composed of two layers, it is preferable to mix a wetting agent in the overcoat layer on the lower layer side, and the content thereof is preferably 5 to 30% by mass of the mass of the lower layer of the overcoat layer.

When an overcoat layer is provided on the image protective layer, it is preferable that the image protective layer contains a wetting agent, and the overcoat layer contains a wetting agent. It is desirable to use hydrophilic cellulose derivatives together with gelatin or mixtures thereof and their cross-linking hardeners.

1 to 3 are cross-sectional views of a main part showing a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 to 3, 2 is a support, 4 is an undercoat layer, 6 is an ink image receiving layer,
6A is an ink absorbing layer, 6B is an ink receiving layer, 8 is an image protective layer, 10 is an overcoat layer, 10A is a first overcoat layer, and 10B is a second overcoat layer.

-Image recording material- [Support] As the support in the image recording material of the present invention, both a transparent support made of a transparent material such as plastic and an opaque support made of an opaque material such as paper are used. it can. In order to make the most of the transparency of the colorant receiving layer, it is preferable to use a transparent support or a highly glossy opaque support.

As a material that can be used for the transparent support, a material that is transparent and has the property of withstanding radiant heat when used in an OHP or backlight display is preferable. Examples of the material include polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET); polysulfone,
Examples thereof include polyphenylene oxide, polyimide, polycarbonate and polyamide. Among them, polyesters are preferable, and polyethylene terephthalate is particularly preferable. The thickness of the transparent support is not particularly limited, but is preferably 50 to 200 μm in terms of handleability.

As the highly glossy opaque support, it is preferable that the surface on the side where the ink image receiving layer is provided has a glossiness of 40% or more. The glossiness is JIS P-
8142 (value of 75 ° specular gloss test method for paper and paperboard). In particular,
The following supports may be mentioned.

For example, high gloss paper supports such as art paper, coated paper, cast coated paper, and baryta paper used for silver salt photographic supports; polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET); nitrocellulose. Cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate butyrate, and plastic films such as polysulfone, polyphenylene oxide, polyimide, polycarbonate and polyamide are made opaque by containing a white pigment and the like (may be subjected to surface calendering treatment). High-gloss film; or a high-gloss film containing the various paper supports, the transparent support, or the white pigment is provided with a coating layer of polyolefin containing or not containing a white pigment. Support. Further, a white pigment-containing expanded polyester film (for example, expanded PET in which polyolefin fine particles are contained and voids are formed by stretching) can also be preferably mentioned.

The support may be corona discharge treated,
Those subjected to glow discharge treatment, flame treatment, ultraviolet irradiation treatment and the like may be used.

The polyethylene covering the front and back surfaces of the base paper is mainly low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and / or
Alternatively, high density polyethylene (HDPE) may be used, but other LLDPE, polypropylene or the like may be partially used.

In particular, the polyethylene layer on the side where the ink image receiving layer is formed has opacity and whiteness by adding rutile or anatase type titanium oxide to polyethylene, as is widely used in photographic printing paper. Those improved are preferable. Here, the content of titanium oxide is preferably 3 to 20 mass% with respect to polyethylene, and 4 to 1 is preferable.
3 mass% is more preferable.

The polyethylene-coated paper can be used as a glossy paper, or when a polyethylene is melt-extruded on the surface of a base paper for coating, a so-called embossing treatment is performed to obtain a matt surface or a matte surface which can be obtained by ordinary photographic printing paper. It is also possible to use those having a silk surface.

In the present invention, in order to obtain the quality of the image recording material equivalent to that of the silver salt color sensitive material, the whiteness and smoothness of the current baryta paper or WP (support in which both sides of the base paper are coated with thermoplastic resin) are required. High substrates should be used. Further, it is preferable to use a substrate in which the support itself has an oxygen barrier property after image formation.

[Undercoat layer] In the undercoat layer, a hydrophilic resin such as polyvinyl alcohol or a modified product thereof, gelatin or a modified product thereof, which has good adhesion between the surface of the support and the ink image-receiving layer, is used. Alternatively, a thermoplastic resin latex or the like may be mixed. By providing such an undercoat layer, it is possible to improve the adhesion between the support and the ink image receiving layer and the water absorbency. Further, a white pigment such as barium sulfate, a fluorescent whitening agent, an antioxidant and a light stabilizer can be mixed in the undercoat layer.

[Ink image-receiving layer] A layer having a function of absorbing ink applied by an ink jet with a small amount of bleeding, adsorbing and fixing or insolubilizing a dye to hold an image. A layer (ink absorption layer) for enhancing solvent absorption of the ink, fixing the image forming dye in a specific layer, and absorbing the solvent closer to the support to obtain an image with less bleeding and beading. It is preferable to provide a multi-layered structure for strengthening the fixation of the dye.

As the mordant for fixing the dye, the cationic polymer described in US Pat. No. 5,474,943 can be used. Also, US Pat. No. 5,789,07
It is preferable to have a multilayer structure as described in No. 0.
Preferred mordants are water soluble and at least 30 g /
Cationic polymers with a solubility of 1 such as diethylammonium chloride hydroxyethyl cellulose (celquant L-200 and celquant).
L-100 National Starch a Ch
manufactured by electronic company). Preferred are a cationic modified cellulose ether, an epoxy-substituted trimethylammonium chloride or a reaction product of dodecyldimethylammonium chloride and hydroxyethyl cellulose, and the like. In addition, the binder may be a hydrophilic polymer that does not impair the ink receptivity, for example, JP-A 61-1048.
The materials described in JP-A No. 3 or a cationic polyvinyl alcohol or its copolymer can be used.

As the inorganic pigment that adsorbs the dye, silica,
Known materials such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, diatomaceous earth, calcium silicate, colloidal silica, alumina, pseudo-boehmite, colloidal alumina, and alumina hydrate are used. Alumina hydrate, silica, colloidal silica and the like are particularly preferable. These inorganic pigments are formed in a void shape in the ink image receiving layer to adsorb the dye and prevent ink bleeding.

The alumina hydrate can be produced by a known method such as hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxide and hydrolysis of sodium aluminate. The shape thereof is not particularly limited, such as cilia, needle, plate, or spindle, and may or may not have orientation. As the alumina hydrate used in the present invention, those commercially available, or those processed from their raw materials can be used, and the characteristics of these alumina hydrates are transparency and gloss. Further, it is more preferable that it has a high dye fixing property, does not have cracks during the formation of a film, and has a good coating property. Examples of commercially available products include A manufactured by Catalyst Kasei Co., Ltd.
S-2, AS-3, 520 manufactured by Nissan Chemical Co., Ltd. and the like can be mentioned. These alumina hydrates usually have a fine particle diameter of 1 μm or less and have excellent dispersibility, and therefore can give a recording medium excellent smoothness and gloss.

The binder for binding the inorganic pigment can be freely selected from water-soluble polymers. For example, polyvinyl alcohol or a modified product thereof,
Starch or a modified product thereof, gelatin or a modified product thereof, casein or a modified product thereof, gum arabic, cellulose derivatives such as carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, SBR latex, NBR latex, methyl methacrylate-butadiene copolymer, etc. Conjugated diene-based copolymer latex, functional group-modified polymer latex, vinyl-based copolymer latex such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and acrylate copolymer are preferable. These binders may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The mixing ratio of the inorganic pigment, particularly alumina hydrate, and the binder is a mass ratio, preferably 1: 1 to 35:
1, more preferably from 5: 1 to 30: 1. When the amount of the binder is less than the above range, the mechanical strength of the ink image receiving layer may be insufficient, and cracking or powder falling tends to occur. But,
This tendency can be reduced by providing an image protective layer or an overcoat layer described below on the ink image receiving layer. Further, when the mixing ratio of the inorganic pigment, particularly alumina hydrate and the binder is higher than the above range, the pore volume becomes small and the ink absorbability may be lowered.

The coating liquid for forming the ink image-receiving layer contains, in addition to the alumina hydrate and the binder, if necessary, a dispersant, a thickener, a pH adjuster, a lubricant, a fluidity modifier and an interface. It is also possible to add an activator, a defoaming agent, a water resistance agent, a release agent, a fluorescent whitening agent, an ultraviolet absorber, an antioxidant and the like.

The coating amount of the inorganic pigment, particularly alumina hydrate, on the substrate is 10 g in order to have the dye fixing property.
/ M ² or more is preferable, when the substrate does not have ink absorbability, the coating amount is more preferably in the range of 30 to 50 g / m ² , and when the substrate has ink absorbability, the coating amount is The range of 20 to 40 g / m ² is more preferable. The coating / drying method is not particularly limited, but the alumina hydrate and the binder may be subjected to a baking treatment, if necessary. By carrying out such a baking treatment, the binder crosslinking strength is increased, the mechanical strength of the ink receiving layer is improved, and the surface gloss of the alumina hydrate layer is improved.

In the present invention, silica is used as the inorganic pigment,
Colloidal silica or the like can be used similarly to alumina. Further, the method described in JP-A No. 11-321080 can be used.

The ink image-receiving layer may contain thermoplastic resin particles. After the ink penetrates through the porous ink image-receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles, the ink is fixed by making it non-porous, improving the weather resistance such as water resistance and light resistance, and imparting gloss to the image. The printed matter can be stored for a long period of time.

Heat treatment is preferable as a method for making the ink image-receiving layer non-porous, and the heat-treatment temperature is preferably higher than the flow temperature of the thermoplastic resin particles contained in the ink image-receiving layer. It is more preferable to heat above the temperature (MFT), and these temperatures are arbitrarily selected depending on the type of thermoplastic resin. The minimum film forming temperature (MFT) is a temperature at which the image protective layer is formed into a transparent film by heat treatment, and depends on the processing time.

[Image Protecting Layer] The image protecting layer preferably forms a porous resin layer using a thermoplastic resin latex, and the latex preferably has a specific particle distribution. The average particle size of the resin latex is 0.1 to 10 μm, preferably 0.3 to 5 μm, more preferably 0.3.
To 3 μm. The distribution is preferably a monodisperse distribution, and a latex having uniform particles such that 90% or more of the particles are in the range of ± 2/3, preferably ± 1/3 of the average particle size is preferable. In particular, it is preferable that fine particles of latex do not enter. The thermoplastic resin latex preferably has a particle solid content of about 10 to 60% by mass, and it is desirable that the transparent resin film be formed by heating without impairing ink permeability.

Since the thermoplastic resin latex in the image protective layer is provided with an overcoat layer described later on the image protective layer, it is suitable for the processing temperature when the image protective layer is provided regardless of the Tg of the resin, and is preferably Minimum film forming temperature (MFT) 10 ° C or more higher than the processing temperature for forming the image protection layer
Those having a temperature of 50 ° C. or higher, preferably 60 ° C. or higher are preferable. At these processing temperatures, the image protective layer is formed while maintaining the state of the porous layer containing thermoplastic particles, and the ink penetrating from the overcoat layer can be adsorbed and fixed to the ink image receiving layer.

The thermoplastic resin used in the image protective layer is made non-porous by heat treatment at the time of image recording to form a film,
A resin having a property of protecting an image, particularly a resin containing a component having a high ultraviolet absorption is preferable. For example, vinyl chloride type, vinylidene chloride type, styrene type, acrylic type, urethane type, polyester type, ethylene type material or vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate type, vinyl chloride-acrylic type, vinyl chloride-vinylidene chloride type, Vinylidene chloride-acrylic, SBR, NBR, etc. latex,
Latex of these two or more copolymers, such as SB
Examples of the latex include R-based / NBR-based mixtures and vinyl chloride-acrylic / vinyl acetate-based mixtures. The content of the component containing the conjugated double bond component is preferably 50% or less.

For the image protective layer, it is desirable to mix silica gel or the like in the image protective layer in an amount of 10 to 30% by mass. The inclusion of silica gel or the like in the image protective layer has the effects of enhancing the adhesion between the image protective layer and the ink image receiving layer, preventing beading, and improving the sharpness of the image. The hydrophilic binder used in the ink image-receiving layer, for example, to optimize the adhesion between the image-protecting layer and the ink image-receiving layer or to improve the sharpness of the image, for example, a small amount of a binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, is also used in the image-protecting layer. It is desirable to add.

[Overcoat Layer] The overcoat layer according to the present invention contains a hydrophilic polymer as a binder, particularly a polymer having ink receptivity, preferably a cross-linking curing agent and a lubricant thereof, and if necessary thickened. Agents, pH adjusters, fluidity change agents, surfactants, defoamers, mold release agents, fluorescent whitening agents, ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants and the like can be added. By providing an overcoat layer on the ink image-receiving layer and the image-protecting layer, the layers below it, the ink image-receiving layer, and the recording image layer are physically and chemically protected, and at the same time, the transportability of the recording material in the recording apparatus and the improvement of the image quality, Stabilization can be improved.

As the gelatin, photographic gelatin can be used, and there are acid-processed gelatin having a relatively large amount of cationic components, lime-processed gelatin having a relatively large amount of anionic components, and the like, and it should be selected according to the characteristics of the ink. Good. As the modified gelatin, acylated gelatin, for example, modified gelatin with trimellitic anhydride, esterified gelatin of --COO group, or the like having a different chargeability of gelatin can be used. By mixing these modified gelatins with gelatin, it is possible to adjust the ink receptivity, the oil-lubricity and the like. Further, the physical strength and plasticity of the recording material can be adjusted by mixing a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and gelatin with gelatin. The mixing mass ratio of modified gelatin to gelatin is 2% to 20.
%.

The cross-linking hardener for gelatin is a sulfonate hardener used for photography, such as bis (methanesulfonate), bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane, etc., an s-triazine hardener such as 2,4-dichloro. -6-Hydroxy-triazine, etc., T.S. H. Jamo
s, The Theory of the photo
Inorganic curing agents or organic curing agents described in chapter 3 of the 4th edition of organic process can be used. Although depending on the type of gelatin, the crosslinking curing agent is preferably added in the layer in an amount of 0.01 to 0.1% by mass based on gelatin.

In the present invention, at least one of the overcoat layers preferably contains gelatin, modified gelatin, or a mixture thereof and a cross-linking hardener thereof.
At least a part of these crosslinking curing agents is contained in the overcoat layer as a crosslinking reaction product. More preferably, when a hydrophilic polymer is mixed in the overcoat layer with gelatin, modified gelatin, or a mixture thereof and these cross-linking hardeners, ink permeability, ink adhesion without deteriorating the physical strength of the overcoat layer. And the ink drying property can be improved.

Examples of the hydrophilic polymer mixed in the overcoat layer include polyvinyl alcohol in addition to cellulose derivatives such as nonionic cellulose ether, anionic cellulose ether and cationic cellulose ether.
Examples thereof include polyvinylpyrrolidone, sulfonated polyester, dodecyldimethylammonium chloride epoxy substitution product, and methylcellulose.

When the overcoat layer has an image protective layer, it is 0.01 or more and 1.0 or less as a thin layer as compared with the image protective layer.
The following is desirable. When the thickness of the overcoat layer is less than 0.01 of the protective layer, the function of protecting the image protective layer is low, and when it is greater than 1, the function of permeating the ink into the image protective layer is likely to deteriorate. The thickness of the overcoat layer is more preferably 1/20 to 2/5 of the image protective layer, and is 0.1 to 1 μm, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 μm. When the overcoat layer is formed on the ink image receiving layer surface, the thickness of the overcoat layer is 0.1 to 5 μm.
m, preferably 0.1 to 3 μm.

[Back Layer] In the ink jet image recording material of the present invention, a back layer may be provided if necessary. It is desirable to coat the back layer with a waterproof resin latex, a matting agent of inorganic fine particles, a fluororesin, a lubricant, a surfactant and the like. By providing a back coat layer, the transportability of the image recording material can also be improved, and when the inkjet image recording material is in the form of a roll or when a number of sheets are stacked in a sheet form, the adhesion between the outermost surface and the back layer Can prevent troubles.

-Image recording method-The image recording method of the present invention is to use the above-mentioned inkjet type image recording material, and in particular, after printing ink with the inkjet type image recording material of the present invention, heating is performed. Processing is desirable. This heat treatment is preferably carried out under the temperature condition and treatment time necessary for making the ink image image-receiving layer comprising a porous layer containing thermoplastic resin particles non-porous. The layer has good weather resistance such as water resistance and light resistance, can give gloss to the image and is printed, and the ink that has permeated into the ink image receiving layer of the porous layer is made non-porous to form an ink image receiving layer. By adsorbing and fixing it inside, the printed matter can be stored for a long time.

The heat treatment temperature at this time is preferably not less than the flow temperature of the thermoplastic resin particles, more preferably not less than the minimum film forming temperature (MFT). The membrane temperature (MFT) is
It is the temperature at which the image protection layer, which is mainly used, becomes transparent by heat treatment, and also depends on the processing time.

The heat treatment temperature is preferably such that the image protective layer is made non-porous and transparent at the same time. In this case, the T of the thermoplastic resin particles constituting the image protective layer is T.
film forming temperature (MFT) of g and thermoplastic resin latex
It is desirable to use a resin latex having a difference of 10 ° C. or less.

As means for applying such an image recording method, it is desirable to have at least means for printing the ink on the image recording material of the present invention and then heat-treating the printed image recording material at a predetermined temperature. .

Further, the ink jet type image recording material according to the present invention is preferably used for recording a high quality color image. In this case, the image recording device is a device having the above-mentioned heat treatment means, and the image obtained by the development processing system of the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, the image information obtained from the high quality color digital camera, etc. In particular, it is preferably used for an image recording system which records continuously by an inkjet method. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-36151
It is preferably used as a recording material of the image recording apparatus described in No. 8.

As means for applying such an image recording method, it is desirable to have at least means for printing the ink on the image recording material of the present invention and then heat-treating the printed image recording material at a predetermined temperature. The image recording material may be in a sheet form or a roll form, but the inkjet recording image recording material in a roll form is wound and the inkjet recording image recording material in a roll form is continuously or intermittently formed. While sending it to
A printable image recording system is desirable.

The ink jet type image recording material according to the present invention is preferably used for recording a high quality color image. In this case, the image recording apparatus has the above-mentioned heat treatment means, and can be loaded with a roll-shaped inkjet recording image recording material, and printing can be performed while the roll-shaped inkjet recording image recording material is sent out. An image recording apparatus, particularly an image recording method for continuously recording by an inkjet method based on an image obtained by a development processing system of a silver halide photographic material and image information obtained by a high quality color digital camera or the like. It is preferably used in a system. For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-
It is preferably used as a recording material of the image recording apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 361518.

This image recording apparatus, as shown in FIG.
As an input device for inputting image data, a film scanner 12, a media driver 14, and an image data receiving device 16 are respectively provided, and an image processing device 18 for processing the image data input from the input device is provided. As an output device that outputs image data (or an image) that has been processed by the device 18, an inkjet printer 20 that records an image by an inkjet recording method is provided.

The media driver 14 is, for example, a magnetic disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk (FD) or a C disk.
Various information such as optical discs such as D-R, magneto-optical discs (MO), PC cards that can be loaded into digital still cameras (DSC), smart media, IC cards (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "digital camera cards") One of the storage media is set, and the image data stored in the set information storage medium is read and output. Also,
The image data receiving device 16 is connected to a computer network such as the Internet, receives R, G, B image data from an information processing device (for example, a personal computer (PC)) via the computer network, and receives the received image. Output the data.

The film scanner 12 uses the photographic film 3
8 (For example, a negative image or a positive image visualized by developing after photographing a subject, which is recorded on a photographic light-sensitive material (hereinafter simply referred to as photographic film) such as a negative film or a reversal film) Is read out and the image data obtained by the reading is output, and the light emitted from the LED light source 30 and having the light amount unevenness reduced by the light diffusion box 34 is reflected on the photographic film 38 set on the film carrier 36. The light irradiated and transmitted through the photographic film 38 is configured to form an image on the light receiving surface of the area CCD sensor 42 (may be a line CCD sensor) via the lens 40.

The film carrier 36 intermittently conveys the photographic film 38 so that the film image is sequentially positioned on the optical axis (reading position) of the light emitted from the LED light source 30. The LED light source 30 includes a large number of LEDs that emit R light,
A large number of LEDs that emit G light, a large number of LEDs that emit B light, and a large number of LEDs that emit IR light are arranged on the entire surface of a substrate (not shown) at a constant and high density. It is driven by a driver (not shown) so as to sequentially emit R, G, and B lights while one image is located at the reading position.

As a result, the film images recorded on the photographic film 38 are sequentially read by the CCD sensor 42, and the CCD sensor 42 outputs R, G, B, and IR signals corresponding to the film image. The signal output from the CCD sensor 42 is converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 44 and input to the image processing device 18. The film scanner 12 is provided with a scanner control unit 28, and the operation of each unit of the film scanner 12 is controlled by the scanner control unit 28.
Further, each film image may be read a plurality of times (for example, a prescan for reading a film image at a relatively low resolution and a fine scan for reading a film image at a relatively high resolution).

As the input device according to this embodiment,
The above-described film scanner 12 is a reflection-type scanner that reads a reflection original (for example, color paper on which an image is recorded) and outputs the image data obtained by the reading.
It may be provided separately. As this reflection type scanner, a scanner provided with an automatic supply mechanism that automatically and sequentially supplies a plurality of reflection originals to a reading unit of the scanner so that a plurality of reflection originals can be automatically and continuously read It is preferable to use.

The film scanner 12, the media driver 14, and the image data receiving device 16 are connected to the image processing device 18.
Image data output from these image data input devices are input to the pre-processing unit 44. The preprocessing unit 44 performs different predetermined preprocessing on the input image data depending on the image data input source. Examples of preprocessing for the image data input from the film scanner 12 include dark correction, density conversion, shading correction, defective pixel correction, and the like. Also,
Examples of preprocessing for the image data input from the media driver 14 include decompression of image data compressed and recorded in an information storage medium and image processing such as sharpness improvement. Further, as the preprocessing for the image data input from the image data receiving device 16, for example, decompression of the compressed image data (for example, JPEG format image data) received by the image data receiving device 16 can be cited.

The pre-processing unit 44 is connected to the image processing unit 48 via the image memory 46, and the image data subjected to the pre-processing by the pre-processing unit 44 is temporarily stored in the image memory 46 and then the image processing unit 48. The data is read by 48 and input to the image processing unit 48. Based on the image data read from the image memory 46, the image processing unit 48 automatically determines the processing conditions of various image processing for the image data by calculation (setup calculation).

The image processing executed by the image processing unit 48 includes, for example, gray balance adjustment of an image, density adjustment, gradation control, hypertone processing for compressing the gradation of an extremely low frequency luminance component of an image, and granularity. Hyper sharpness processing that enhances sharpness while suppressing IR, IR
The image processing for improving the image quality of the output image, such as the defect portion correction processing for correcting the defect portion of the image data due to the scratches on the photographic film or the adhesion of foreign matter on the basis of the data of 1. In addition, image processing that intentionally changes the image tone (for example, image processing that finishes the output image to portrait tone) and image processing that processes the image (for example, make a person present in the original image slender on the output image). Image processing such as image processing for finishing) may be executable.

The image processing unit 48 also performs various image processing on the image data read from the image memory 46 according to the processing conditions determined by the setup calculation.
The image processing unit 48 is connected to the image data storage unit 54 of the inkjet printer 20, and the image data for which various image processes have been completed is transferred to the image data storage unit 54 as recording image data and temporarily stored.

The image processing device 18 includes a CPU, RO
The M, the RAM, and the input / output port are connected to each other via a bus, and the input / output port includes a PC having a storage device such as a hard disk device (HDD). CRT5 is used for the input / output port of the PC.
0 and an input device 52 including a keyboard and a mouse are connected. The preprocessing unit 44 and the image processing unit 4 described above
8 can be realized, for example, by causing a PC to execute a predetermined program, but may be configured to include dedicated hardware that executes various image processes.

In addition, the image processing is performed on the image data based on the processing conditions of the image processing obtained by the setup calculation, and the image data after the image processing is output to the CRT 50 to estimate the finish of the output image. By displaying the image on the CRT 50, the operator verifies the processing condition obtained by the setup calculation, and when the correction of the processing condition is instructed through the input device 52, the processing condition is corrected according to the instruction. You may

On the other hand, the image data storage unit 54 of the ink jet printer 20 is connected to a printer control unit 56 including a microcomputer. The printer control unit 56 is the scanner control unit 2 of the film scanner 12.
8. Connected to the image processing unit 48 of the image processing device 18. A recording head 60 is connected to the printer control unit 56 via a driver 58, and a recording material conveying unit 62, a heating processing unit 64, and an image reading unit 66 are also connected.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ink jet printer 20 has a housing 20A having a substantially box shape.
At one end of A, a long image recording material 70 is provided on the reel 7
The magazine 72 to be stored while being wound around 2A is set. In a state where the magazine 72 is set in the housing 20A, the reel 72A is connected to the pullout / conveyance motor via a speed reduction mechanism (all are not shown), and is rotated by driving the pullout / conveyance motor. As a result, the image recording material 70 is pulled out from the magazine 72.

The image recording material 70 drawn out from the magazine 72 is directed to the other end side of the casing 20A by a pair of conveying rollers 74, 76, 78, 80, 82 arranged on the downstream side in the drawing direction of the image recording material 70. Be transported. The conveying roller pair 74 is rotationally driven by the driving force of the pull-out conveying motor, and the conveying roller pairs 76, 78, 80, 82 are rotationally driven by the driving force of the synchronous conveying motor (not shown).

A loop forming mechanism (not shown) is provided between the conveying roller pairs 74 and 76, and a loop of the image recording material 70 is formed between the conveying roller pairs 74 and 76 by this loop forming mechanism. . In the vicinity of the loop forming position, loop sensors 84 composed of a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing each other across the loop forming position are provided at two different height positions.

Pull-out and transport motor, synchronous transport motor, loop forming mechanism, and transport roller pairs 74, 76, 78, 8
Reference numerals 0 and 82 constitute the recording material conveying section 62, and the printer control section 56 records the loop sensor 84 located on the upper side after the loop of the image recording material 70 is once formed by the loop forming mechanism. When the loop of the material 70 is not detected (the light emitted from the light emitting element is received by the light receiving element without being shielded by the recording material), the pulling / conveying motor is driven to drive the reel 72A and the conveying roller pair. By rotating 74, the drawing of the image recording material 70 from the magazine 72 is started, and when the loop sensor 84 located on the lower side detects the loop of the image recording material 70 (the light emitted from the light emitting element is When the light receiving element does not receive light because it is shielded by the lowermost part of the loop of the recording material 70), the drive of the drawer transport motor is stopped and the magazine is stopped. It repeated stopping the withdrawal of the image recording material 70 from 2.

By forming the above loop, it becomes possible to convey the image recording material 70 asynchronously with the drawing of the image recording material 70 from the magazine 72 on the downstream side of the loop. For this reason, the printer control unit (not shown) is configured so that the image recording material 7 by the recording head 60 is provided on the downstream side of the loop.
In order to convey the image recording material 70 in synchronism with the image recording on 0, the synchronous conveying motor is driven to convey the conveying roller pair 7.
6, 78, 80, 82 are driven to rotate.

The recording head 60 is arranged above the pair of conveying rollers 76 and 78. The recording head 60 is arranged near the conveyance path of the image recording material 70. A cutter 100 for cutting the long image recording material 70 in units of individual information is provided on the downstream side of the conveying roller 82. The image recording material 70 cut for each image by the cutter 100 is the tray 10 provided in the housing 20A.
It is discharged to 2. In addition, 86 is an image surface pressure roll, 8
8 and 90 are platens.

Inks (for example, C, M, Y, and BK) of different colors are stored in a plurality of main tanks (not shown), and are supplied to each nozzle row through the ink chamber. As a result, the inks of different colors are ejected from the nozzles of each recording head 60 for each nozzle row.

A 3-line CCD sensor (an area sensor may be used) 98 for reading a color image (output image) recorded on the image recording material 70 is arranged between the conveying rollers 80 and 82. There is. The CCD sensor 98 constitutes a part of the image reading unit, and the image signal output from the CCD sensor 98 is supplied to an amplifier included in the image reading unit.
An output image data representing an output image is input to the printer control unit through an A / D converter and a correction unit that performs correction such as dark correction.

On the other hand, as the ejection method for ejecting the ink from the nozzle, any one of various known ejection methods can be adopted. For example, as a typical method, a piezoelectric element attached to the ink chamber is used. A pulse voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element to deform the piezoelectric element to change the ink fluid pressure in the ink chamber, and the change in ink fluid pressure is used to eject ink droplets from the nozzle. It is possible to employ a thermal method or the like in which the ink is heated by the heating element and the ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles by the bubbles generated in the ink chamber by the heating. The recording head 60 is also provided with a pump 112 that sucks ink in all the ink chambers inside the recording head 60 by generating a negative pressure in order to eliminate clogging of the nozzle ejection port.

When the image recording material of the present invention is applied to the image recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, after the image recording material is prepared, the long image recording material 70 is taken out from the magazine 72 and image recording is performed. When transported in the apparatus, the image recording material 70 contains a wetting agent in at least one of the ink image-receiving layer, the image protective layer and the overcoat layer except the outermost layer, and as a result, the ink permeability is promoted, Improves surface gloss and image quality. In addition, after the ink is printed on the image recording material 70 from the recording head 60, the porous material can be made non-porous by heat treatment in the heat treatment section 64. As a result, the surface property and the transparency of the surface of the image recording material 70 can be obtained. By adsorbing and fixing the printed ink on the ink image receiving layer, the durability and weather resistance of the image recording material can be improved and the image can be sharpened.

[0080]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. (Example 1) 1. Preparation of Inkjet Image-Recording Material of the Present Invention 1-1 Preparation of Support and Undercoat Layer A polyethylene double-sided laminated paper support (thickness 100 μm) having a structure generally used for producing color photographic paper was used. After subjecting this back surface to corona discharge treatment, a 5% by weight gelatin aqueous solution containing sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate was added with 0.3% of an epoxy curing agent.
An undercoat layer having a thickness of 0.2 μm was provided using the liquid added in an amount corresponding to mass%.

1-2 Preparation of Ink Image Receiving Layer (Ink Absorbing Layer) A 5% by mass aqueous solution of acid-treated gelatin in a cationic resin latex, chloromethylethylenebenzene and 2-methyl-2-propionic acid-1,2-
N, N-dimethylmethanamine of ethanedyl ester 4
11% by mass of copolymer particles of a graded salt (to gelatin) and 1.4% by mass of polystyrene resin latex (relative to the mass of the layer) were added to form an ink absorbing layer having a thickness of about 10 μm on the surface of the undercoat layer. Provided.

(Ink Receiving Layer) Epoxy Substitution of Cationic Cellulose Ether, Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Dodecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride in a 5% by Weight Gelatin Aqueous Solution of Acid-treated Gelatin 1: 7 Times by Weight of Resin (to Gelatin) and Methyl Cellulose About 40% by mass
(Against gelatin) is added and stirred, and 0.05% by mass of bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane is used as a crosslinking hardening agent.
(To gelatin) was added, and glycerol 2 was used as a wetting agent.
A 5% solution (with respect to the ink image receiving layer) was added and stirred to prepare a coating liquid. This coating liquid was applied onto the ink absorbing layer and dried to obtain a comparative sample a having an ink receiving layer having a thickness of about 3 μm. Comparative sample b was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the wetting agent was not used in the coating liquid.

1-3 Preparation of Image Recording Material (Image Recording Material No. 1) An overcoat layer having a thickness of about 0.5 μm was provided on the surface of Comparative Sample a using the following coating liquid. A 5% by mass aqueous solution of lime-processed gelatin in bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane as a cross-linking hardening agent was added in an amount of 0.
Image recording material No. 1 coated with a small amount of 06 mass% (based on gelatin) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate
Got (Image recording material No. 2) An overcoat layer having a thickness of about 0.5 μm was provided on the surface of comparative sample a using the following coating liquid. A 5% by mass aqueous solution of lime-processed gelatin in bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane as a cross-linking hardening agent was added in an amount of 0.
The image recording agent N was coated with 06% by mass (to gelatin) and 30% by mass of methylcellulose (to gelatin) and a small amount of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate.
I got o.2.

(Image recording material No. 3) An overcoat layer of about 1.2 μm was formed on the surface of the comparative sample b using the following coating liquid. To a 5% by mass aqueous solution of lime-processed gelatin, 0.06% by mass of bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane as a cross-linking hardening agent (against gelatin) and about 23% by mass of glycerol as a wetting agent were added, and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate was further added. Was used as a coating liquid on Comparative Sample b to form a first overcoat layer having a thickness of about 1 μm, and the first overcoat layer was used as a coating liquid excluding the wetting agent in the coating liquid. An image recording material No. 3 was obtained in which a second overcoat layer having a thickness of about 0.2 μm was provided on the first overcoat layer.

Using these samples, in the image recording system shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, by using a film having a color negative image using a color negative film suparia 400 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., the image recording shown in FIGS. Image recording was performed using the sample in the system. In the heat treatment section, each sample was heat treated at 100 to 140 degrees. Each sample was evaluated according to the following criteria, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Image quality: The obtained image was visually checked for hue, sharpness, damage to the image and the like. Image weather resistance: Image recorded matter outdoors (including in direct sunlight)
It was left to stand for 10 days and the change in the image was visually observed. Ink absorbency: Ink bleeding, uniformity, and beading were visually observed. Abrasion resistance: A weight of 1 kg is placed on a recording medium and an image, and the degree of scratches is visually evaluated by comparison. Storability: After pressing the surface in a roll shape and storing it at room temperature and normal pressure for 10 days, the roll is rewound and the damage state of the ink image receiving layer surface is observed. Common evaluation method: ◎ Particularly excellent ○ Better than △ △ Slightly inferior in practical use × Inferior

[0087]

[Table 1]

From the results shown in Table 1, when the mordant and the wetting agent were used in the ink image receiving layer and the overcoat layer as the uppermost layer was not used, when the recording material was stored in a roll form, some scratches due to adhesion to the back surface occurred. Cheap. Further, if a wetting agent is not used in the ink image receiving layer, the image quality and the ink absorbency are slightly inferior and the abrasion resistance is relatively deteriorated. Providing an overcoat layer on the ink image-receiving layer containing a wetting agent improves the following in particular. (1) By providing a layer containing no wetting agent on the uppermost layer of the overcoat layer, defects caused by incorporating the wetting agent into the uppermost layer are eliminated. (2) By using a hardened gelatin layer as the overcoat layer, physical strength, abrasion resistance, especially image quality, weather resistance and storability are improved in the ink image receiving layer. (3) Ink absorption and image quality are eliminated by using a hydrophilic polymer cellulose derivative in the overcoat layer.

Example 2 The support with an undercoat layer used in Example 1 was used. 2-1 (Preparation of Ink Image Receiving Layer) In order to form an image receiving layer (porous inorganic pigment layer), a coating dispersion was prepared by the following method. 100 parts by mass of boehmite sol having a crystal thickness in the (020) plane direction of 80 μm and a secondary agglomerated particle diameter of 1.5 to 4 μm synthesized by the hydrolysis method of aluminum isoproxide, and 11 parts by mass of polyvinyl alcohol (both are Solid content) and water,
The undercoat support is coated with a coating solution to give a dry film thickness of 30.
A micron coating film (ink image receiving layer) was used. The coating film thus prepared was a transparent porous film having a pore size of the alumina hydrate porous layer of 50 mm. This was designated as Comparative Sample c.

2-2 (Preparation of Image Protecting Layer) (1) Acrylonitrile / vinylidene chloride / acrylic acid (mass ratio 15/79/6): (P-1) synthesis (3) In a 400 ml eggplant type flask, (1) 230 g Distilled water, (2) 0.8 g Triton-770, (3) 1
2.34 g of acrylonitrile, (4) 4.93 g of acrylic acid, (5) 64.96 g of vinylidene chloride,
(6) 0.204 g of potassium metabisulfite and (7) 0.102 g of potassium persulfate were sequentially added.
The flask was sealed and shaken at 30 ° C. for 18 hours. The polymerization mixture was freed from volatile residual monomers for 15 minutes at room temperature under reduced pressure. (Tg: 46 ° C.) Sample (P-1) had a monodisperse distribution in which 90% or more of the particles had an average particle size of 0.8 μm and were in the diameter range of 0.5 to 1.1 μm. P-2 and P-3 are the emulsifier Trit
Microtrac UPA (manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.) was used to measure the particle size and distribution of the latex obtained by changing the amount of on-770 and the speed of shaking, and selected one suitable for the purpose.

(2) Image protective layer An image protective layer was obtained by adding 20% by mass of glycerol as a wetting agent (to the image protective layer) to a coating solution containing the thermoplastic resin latex (P-1). This was designated as Comparative Sample d.

(Image recording material No. 4) An overcoat layer was provided on the surface of comparative sample c using the following coating liquid.
A 5% by weight aqueous solution of lime-processed gelatin was added with 0.06 of bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane as a crosslinking hardening agent.
An image recording material No. 4 having an overcoat layer having a thickness of 0.2 μm was obtained by coating with a mass% (to gelatin) and a small amount of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate.

(Image recording material No. 5) Image recording material N was prepared in the same manner as image recording material No. 4 except that comparative sample d was used.
I got o.5.

(Image Recording Material No. 6) An overcoat layer having a thickness of about 0.5 μm was provided on the surface of Comparative Sample d by using the following coating liquid. To a 5% by mass aqueous solution of lime-processed gelatin, 0.06% by mass of bis (vinylsulfonyl) methane (relative to gelatin) and 20% by mass of hydrophilic resin polyvinyl alcohol (relative to gelatin) were added as cross-linking hardening agents.
Further, a small amount of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate was used for coating to obtain an image recording agent No. 6.

After recording an image in the same manner as in Example 1,
evaluated. The results are shown in Table 2.

[0096]

[Table 2]

From the results of Table 2, when the mordant and the wetting agent are used in the ink image receiving layer and the overcoat layer which is the uppermost layer is not used, when the recording material is stored in a roll form, a slight scratch due to adhesion to the back surface occurs. Cheap. If a wetting agent is not used in the image protective layer and an overcoat layer is not provided in the outermost layer, weather resistance, abrasion resistance, etc. are deteriorated. When gelatin and its cross-linking curing agent are used in the overcoat layer, it can be seen that the respective properties of the recording material are particularly excellent when polyvinyl alcohol is used in combination with gelatin as a hydrophilic polymer.

[0098]

As described above, according to the ink jet image recording material of claim 1, at least one of the ink image receiving layer, the image protective layer and the overcoat layer contains a wetting agent having an affinity for ink and a hydrophilic property. Therefore, it is possible to record a high quality image. According to the inkjet image recording material of claim 2, since at least one layer contains gelatin, modified gelatin and a cross-linking hardening agent thereof, in addition to the above effects, the physical strength of the film is further improved, and The weather resistance and the storage stability of the film can be improved. According to the inkjet image recording material of claim 3, since at least one layer of the hydrophilic polymer is used together with gelatin, modified gelatin and a cross-linking curing agent thereof, in addition to the above effects, further image weather resistance, The storability of the film can be further improved, and an image comparable to a color print with a silver salt color sensitive material can be obtained. According to the image recording method of the fourth aspect, an image excellent in the above characteristics can be obtained quickly and efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part showing a preferred embodiment of an inkjet image recording material of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing another preferred embodiment of the inkjet image recording material of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an essential part showing still another preferred embodiment of the inkjet image recording material of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus to which the inkjet image recording material of the present invention is applied.

5 is a configuration diagram of a main part of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 support 4 Undercoat layer 6 Ink image receiving layer 6A ink absorption layer 6B ink receiving layer 8 Image protection layer 10 Overcoat layer 10A First overcoat layer 10B Second overcoat layer 20 inkjet printer 60 recording head 64 Heat treatment section 70 Image recording materials

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ink image receiving layer comprising an ink image receiving layer comprising at least one layer on a support, and an image protective layer and / or an overcoat layer on the ink image receiving layer, excluding the outermost layer. An inkjet image recording material comprising a wetting agent in at least one of the image protective layer and the overcoat layer. 2. The ink jet image recording material according to claim 1, wherein gelatin and / or modified gelatin and a crosslinking hardening agent thereof are contained in at least one of the respective layers. 3. The overcoat layer comprises at least two layers, and the outermost layer thereof contains a hydrophilic polymer, gelatin and / or modified gelatin, and a cross-linking curing agent for these. The inkjet image recording material according to claim 1 or 2. 4. An image recording method using the inkjet image recording material according to any one of claims 1 to 3.