JP7384002B2 - Drying equipment and liquid dispensing systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a drying device and a liquid dispensing system.

As printing drying methods, methods of drying ink using hot air drying or contact heating rollers are widely known (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

However, in a field called flexible packaging, where bags are manufactured using non-permeable base materials, it is necessary to eject water-based ink onto the non-permeable base material using an inkjet recording method and print by sequentially overlapping color ink and white ink. There is. For this reason, the conventional techniques have problems in that sufficient drying ability cannot be obtained or a large amount of drying energy is required to dry the solvent component contained in the aqueous ink.

An object of the present invention is to provide a drying apparatus that can obtain drying quality with low drying energy for non-permeable substrates.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a drying device for drying a substrate, including a hot air drying section that blows hot air, and a hot air drying section that is installed on the opposite side of the substrate from the hot air drying section. a plurality of drying units each having a base material support part, the base material support part having a filling part filled with at least one of a liquid and a gas, and a heat source provided inside the filling part; It is characterized by comprising a path that communicates with the plurality of filling parts and allows at least one of the liquid and the gas to circulate .

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a drying apparatus that can obtain good drying quality with low drying energy for non-permeable substrates.

1 is a schematic side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 2 is a schematic side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to Comparative Example 1. FIG. It is a schematic side view which shows an example of the base material support part of the drying unit based on this invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a circulation path communicating with the substrate support part of the drying unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a circulation path communicating with the substrate support part of the drying unit according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing another example of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and may be modified within the scope of those skilled in the art, such as other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. These are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they exhibit the functions and effects of the present invention.

In the above-mentioned conventional technology, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that printing is performed using an inkjet method, and then the ink is dried using a heating roller and a plurality of warm air facing the heating roller. In Patent Document 1, by using a method of setting specific conditions for the paper conveyance direction and the contact angle of a heating roller, and by combining a plurality of heating rollers with different roller diameters, the paper used as the printing base material is prevented from cockling that occurs due to contact heating. This makes it possible to prevent deformation of the paper.
Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, a large-diameter heat drum is used as a substrate conveyance mechanism, and a plurality of hot air drying means facing the heat drum are provided. A method is disclosed that enables sufficient gripping force to be obtained by wrapping an inkjet recording device around the inkjet recording device, thereby increasing the printing speed and reducing power consumption in an inkjet recording device without deteriorating print quality. .
However, these conventional techniques do not provide sufficient drying ability and require a large amount of drying energy in order to dry the solvent component contained in the aqueous ink.

A drying apparatus (also referred to as a "drying means") according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of drying units, and each drying unit includes a warm air drying section that blows warm air, and a warm air drying section that blows hot air to a base material. It consists of a drying section and a substrate support section installed on the opposite side. Moreover, the base material support part has a filling part (space) filled with liquid or gas, and has a heat source inside the filling part.
An example of applying the drying means of one embodiment to an image forming apparatus will be described below. The image forming apparatus of one embodiment includes a discharge means (a part of the image forming means), a base material conveying means, and a drying means. The image forming apparatus may have other means as necessary. For example, the image forming apparatus may include a corona treatment means, a pre-coating liquid applying means, a heating means other than the above-mentioned drying means, and the like. In addition to this, a pre-processing device, a post-processing device, etc. may be included.
According to the present invention, excellent drying quality can be obtained with low drying energy, and the present invention is particularly suitable for use in flexible packaging printing.
Details of one embodiment will be described below.

(Image forming device)
An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described using FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 of this embodiment is a line head type inkjet recording apparatus, and is a full line type (hereinafter also referred to as a "line type" as appropriate).

The image forming apparatus 100 includes an unwinding device 101, a corona treatment device 103, a first coating liquid applying device 104 (first coating liquid applying means), a first coating liquid drying device 105, an inkjet ejection head 106, a platen 107, and a hot air drying section 108. , a substrate support section 109 through which liquid or gas flows, and a winding device 110. FIG. 1 shows an example of forming an image on a non-permeable base material 102 in an image forming apparatus 100.
Each means will be explained below.

<Unwinding means, winding means>
An unwinding device 101 and a winding device 110 are used to unwind and wind up the impermeable base material 102 in this embodiment.
The unwinding device 101 supplies the impermeable base material 102 stored in a roll to the conveyance path within the image forming apparatus 100 by being rotationally driven.
The winding device 110 rotates and drives the non-permeable base material 102, on which an image is formed by applying ink, to wind it up and store it in a roll shape.

The impermeable base material 102 in this embodiment is a film-like base material that continues in the conveyance direction of the image forming apparatus 100 and is conveyed along the conveyance path between the unwinding device 101 and the winding device 110. . Further, the length of the impermeable base material 102 in the transport direction is longer than at least the transport path between the unwinding device 101 and the winding device 110. By using a base material that is continuous in the transport direction of the image forming apparatus in this way, printing can be performed continuously for a long time.

<Corona treatment means>
The corona treatment means performs corona treatment on the impermeable base material 102 by corona discharge to modify the surface of the impermeable base material 102. As the corona treatment means of this embodiment, a corona treatment device is used. 103 is illustrated.

Although corona treatment is not essential and does not have to be carried out, it is preferable to perform corona treatment before applying the first coating liquid because the adhesion of the first coating layer to the impermeable substrate 102 is improved. Moreover, instead of corona treatment, atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, flame treatment, ultraviolet irradiation treatment, etc. may be performed.

Various known means can be used to perform the corona treatment. Further, various conditions (discharge amount, etc.) when performing corona treatment are not particularly limited, and can be changed as appropriate.

<First coating liquid applying means>
The first coating liquid applying means is a means for applying a first coating liquid to the impermeable base material 102. A pre-coating liquid applying device 104 is illustrated as a pre-coating liquid applying means of this embodiment, and the pre-coating liquid applying device 104 rotates the roller to which the pre-coating liquid is applied so as to come into contact with the impermeable substrate 102. The first coating liquid is applied to the surface of the non-permeable base material 102 by driving.

Examples of means for applying the first coating liquid include, but are not limited to, a means of bringing a roller to which the first coating liquid is adhered into contact with the impermeable base material 102. In addition, various known means such as spin coating, spray coating, gravure roll coating, reverse roll coating, bar coating, and inkjet coating can be used.

By applying the first coating liquid to the impermeable base material 102, a first coat layer (also referred to as a surface treatment layer or the like) is formed on the impermeable base material 102. Note that the formation of the first coating layer is promoted by heating after applying the first coating liquid.

By applying the pre-coating liquid, it is possible to improve the strength of the laminate when the laminate film is attached to the image formed by the non-permeable base material and the color ink and white ink, resulting in good soft packaging. It will be done.

<Discharge means>
The ejecting means is a means for ejecting ink onto the non-permeable substrate to which the pre-coating liquid has been applied.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an inkjet ejection head 106 is used as the ejection means.

The inkjet ejection head 106 has a plurality of nozzle rows in which a plurality of nozzles are arranged, and is provided so that the direction of ink ejection from the nozzles faces the non-permeable base material 102. As a result, the inkjet ejection head 106 applies each color of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), black (K), and white (W) to the first coating layer on the non-permeable base material 102. Discharge liquid sequentially. Note that the order of ejection can be changed as appropriate.

The inkjet ejection head 106 of this embodiment is a line type (full line type) inkjet ejection head. The “line type inkjet ejection head” is an inkjet ejection head in which nozzles are arranged to eject ink over the entire width of the non-permeable base material 102 in the transport direction. Note that the width of the inkjet ejection head may be changed within a range that does not impair the effects of the present invention.

In industrial printing, since it is necessary to print a large amount at high speed, an inkjet recording method using a line-type inkjet ejection head as shown in FIG. 1 is preferable. On the other hand, in industrial printing, printing is performed continuously for a long time, so when a line-type head is used, the ink dries up in some nozzles that do not eject ink for a long time, resulting in ejection failure. may occur.

Therefore, in the ink application step, it is preferable to vibrate the ink interface within the nozzle in a nozzle that does not eject ink. By vibrating the ink interface in the nozzle, the ink in the nozzle and the ink in the ink flow path in the inkjet ejection head, such as the pressure chamber communicating with the nozzle, can be made uniform, and the ink inside the nozzle can be made uniform. The drying of the ink can be suppressed. This makes it possible to further suppress the occurrence of abnormal images due to ejection failure. Note that the ink interface within the nozzle is the ink interface that comes into contact with the atmosphere or gas.

In the inkjet ejection head 106, the means for ejecting the ink by applying stimulation to the ink can be appropriately selected depending on the purpose, and includes, for example, a pressure device, a piezoelectric element, a vibration generator, an ultrasonic oscillator, and a light. Examples include. Specific examples include piezoelectric actuators such as piezoelectric elements, shape memory alloy actuators that use metal phase change due to temperature changes, and electrostatic actuators that use electrostatic force.

Among these, in particular, by applying voltage to a piezoelectric element bonded to a position called a pressure chamber (also called a liquid chamber) in the ink flow path in an inkjet ejection head, the piezoelectric element is bent and the pressure chamber is closed. Preferably, the ink in the pressure chamber is pressurized by reducing the volume of the ink, and the ink is ejected as droplets from the nozzles of the inkjet ejection head.

In addition, among multiple nozzles that can eject such ink, in some nozzles that do not eject ink due to the shape of the image to be formed, a minute voltage that does not eject is applied to the piezoelectric element, and the inside of the nozzle is It is preferable to vibrate the ink interface.

By discharging the color ink after applying the pre-coating liquid, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of color boundary bleeding in the image, and a good image can be obtained. When the first coating liquid contains an aggregating agent, by discharging the color ink after applying the first coating liquid, the color ink spreads and spreads, and the aggregating agent in the first coating layer and the coloring material in the color ink coagulate. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of streaks in the image, and further suppress the occurrence of color boundary bleeding in the image, resulting in a more excellent image.

Although related to other steps, the printing speed of the image forming apparatus in this embodiment is preferably 30 m/min to 100 m/min. In this case, it can be suitably used in industrial applications where high-speed printing is required.

<Transportation means>
The platen 107 guides the impervious substrate 102 to be conveyed along the conveyance path. Further, conveyance rollers, etc., which are not labeled with reference numerals, are also used as conveyance means.
The conveying means, the above-mentioned unwinding means, and winding means constitute a base material conveying means.

<Drying means>
The drying means is a means for heating the ink and the non-permeable substrate after the ink is ejected.
As shown in FIG. 1, the drying means of this embodiment uses a configuration in which a plurality of drying units each including a hot air drying section 108 and a base material support section 109 are arranged.
The hot air drying section 108 blows hot air at a predetermined temperature.
The base material support section 109 is installed on the opposite side of the non-permeable base material 102 from the hot air drying section 108 . The base material support part 109 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.
Further, the drying means preferably has a temperature control function for the base material support section 109.
According to this configuration, the base material support section 109 having a temperature control function suppresses the occurrence of wrinkles due to a large temperature rise in the non-permeable base material 102 due to the hot air from the hot air drying section 108. is possible.

Here, the drying means of one embodiment and the drying means of the image forming apparatus 100p according to Comparative Example 1 (described later) shown in FIG. 2 will be compared. Since the drying means of one embodiment has a configuration in which a plurality of drying units each including a hot air drying section 108 and a substrate support section 109 are arranged, one substrate support section (large drum heater) shown in FIG. Compared to the configuration in which the hot air drying section 108 is provided opposite to the hot air drying section 111, the following advantages can be obtained.
(1) Heat from the opposing warm air drying sections can be used as heating energy for the liquid or gas flowing inside the plurality of substrate supporting sections.
(2) Since the amount of liquid or gas flowing inside the base material support part can be reduced, temperature can be controlled in a short time, and startup time and power consumption can be reduced.
(3) Since it is possible to adjust the temperature of the liquid and gas flowing inside the plurality of base material supporting parts, power consumption can be reduced.
(4) Since a plurality of drying units are arranged side by side, the degree of freedom in layout is improved.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of base material support parts 109 are filled with liquid or gas (at least one of liquid and gas, or a mixture of liquid and gas). It has a filling part 11 that forms a space in which the heating is performed, and has a stationary heater 10 as a heat source inside the filling part 11.
The stationary heater 10 is an example of a heat source, and is another device (for example, a halogen heater) that can be installed inside the filling part 11 and can heat the liquid or gas filled in the filling part 11. Good too. For example, the stationary heater 10 may be disposed inside the filling section 11 so that at least a portion thereof along the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the base material is surrounded by the filling section 11.
The filling part 11 is a space partitioned into an arbitrary size and capable of being filled with liquid or gas. In FIG. 3A, the filling part 11 is an example in which a space with a predetermined width is formed from the outer periphery of the base material support part 109 toward the inside (center axis) along the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the base material. It shows. FIG. 3(B) shows an example in which another space is provided between the outer periphery of the base material support part 109 and the filling part 11.

Both ends of the base material support part 109 (ends (circular shape) in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the base material) may have a structure in which the liquid or gas in the filling part 11 described above is trapped and closed, or a structure provided at the ends. It is possible to provide a path for inflow and discharge of liquid or gas from the outside of the substrate support section 109 via a valve. Furthermore, in order to retain the heat of the heater, both ends of the base material support part 109 of the stationary type heater provided inside the base material support part 109 are also closed as much as possible in order to retain the heat of the heater. It is desirable to take it.

Further, the base material support section 109 preferably has a path (hereinafter referred to as a "circulation path") that communicates with the filling section 11 and allows the gas or liquid filled in the filling section 11 to circulate.
The liquid or gas inside the substrate support section 109 is circulated through a circulation path that communicates with the substrate support section 109, so that the hot air drying section 108 blows hot air at a temperature higher than that of the substrate support section 109. When blowing air, it is possible to suppress an increase in drum temperature of the substrate support section 109 and improve temperature controllability of the substrate support section 109. Here, the temperature of the base material support part 109 is the temperature of the surface of the base material support part 109, for example, the temperature of the surface of the base material support part 109 on the side facing the base material.

A method for flowing a liquid or gas inside the substrate support section 109 is to control the liquid or gas whose temperature has been adjusted outside the substrate support section 109 using one or more temperature control devices 113, Examples include a method of circulating inside the base material support part 109 and a method of providing a stationary heater 10 inside each base material support part 109 to adjust the temperature. In particular, a method of flowing a temperature-controlled liquid outside the base material support section 109 is an effective method because it does not require a complicated device configuration.

Further, the temperature of the plurality of substrate support sections 109 is controlled by supplying hot water produced by a temperature control device 113 to the plurality of substrate support sections 109 via manifolds 114 and 117 and hot water supply paths 115 and 116, as shown in FIG. In addition to controlling the temperature to the same temperature by connecting them in parallel, it is more desirable to be able to control the temperature to a plurality of conditions.
For example, in the case of an image with a small amount of ink in a printed matter, some of the plurality of substrate support parts may be heated without heating, or as shown in FIG. By connecting the base material support parts 109 in series, it is possible to reduce power consumption by providing a gradient in the temperature of the plurality of base material support parts 109.

The liquid to be flowed into the plurality of base material supporting parts 109 is not particularly limited as long as it has fluidity, such as water or oil, but water is particularly desirable because it is easy to handle.
It is desirable to use heated air as the gas flowing inside the plurality of base material supporting parts 109 from the viewpoint of cost and safety.

The temperature control device 113 is an example of a control means that controls the temperatures of the plurality of base material supporting parts 109 at different temperatures. For example, the control means may be able to adjust the temperature of each base material support part 109 to a predetermined temperature. Further, it is preferable that the control means can control the temperature of at least one base material support part 109 among the plurality of base material support parts 109 and the temperature of the other base material support parts 109 to different temperatures, for example.

The temperature of the base material support part 109 used as a drying means is preferably in the range of 50 to 100°C, and the hot air temperature of the hot air drying part 108 used as the drying means is preferably in the range of 100 to 170 °C. By setting the temperature of the hot air drying section 108 50 to 100° C. higher than the drying temperature, particularly excellent drying quality can be obtained. Further, the wind speed is preferably in the range of 10 to 30 m/s.
The control means controls the temperature of the plurality of substrate support parts 109 to be 50 to 100° C. lower than the temperature of the hot air, for example.

The suitable nozzle width of the hot air drying section 108 is 2 to 10 mm. The base material support part 109 preferably has a cylindrical shape. In addition, the diameter of the substrate support section 109 (the outer diameter of the substrate support section 109, the width of the substrate support section 109 along the direction in which the substrate is conveyed) is five times the nozzle width of the hot air drying section 108. It is preferable that it is 30 times or less. In this way, by using a plurality of drying units including the hot air drying section 108 and the substrate support section 109, it becomes possible to obtain effects on drying performance and reduction in power consumption.

The base material support portion 109 may have a cylindrical shape that is a modified cylindrical shape. For example, the base material support part 109 may be formed with a part of a cylindrical curved surface as a flat surface. For example, the surface on the side facing the hot air drying section 108 (the side supporting the base material) may be a curved surface, and at least a portion of the surface on the opposite side may be a flat surface. As an example, the periphery of the portion communicating with the circulation path may be a flat surface.

Further, as another embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to provide a hot air recovery section 112 between a plurality of drying units, as in an image forming apparatus 200 shown in FIG. In this way, it is possible to reuse the thermal energy of the hot air and accelerate drying by removing volatile components.

(Non-permeable base material)
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to obtain excellent effects on the non-permeable base material 102.
The impermeable base material 102 refers to a base material that has a surface with low water permeability, absorbency, and/or adsorption property, and is a base material that has many cavities inside but is not open to the outside. Good too. More quantitatively, it refers to a base material with a water absorption amount of 10 mL/m ² or less from the start of contact to 30 msec ^1/2 in the Bristow method.

Among the non-permeable substrates 102, polypropylene films, polyethylene terephthalate films, and nylon films are particularly preferable because the ink adheres well to them.
Examples of polypropylene films include P-2002, P-2161, and P-4166 manufactured by Toyobo, PA-20, PA-30, and PA-20W manufactured by SUNTOX, and FOA, FOS, and FOR manufactured by Futamura Chemical Co., Ltd. .
Examples of polyethylene terephthalate films include E-5100 and E-5102 manufactured by Toyobo, P60 and P375 manufactured by Toray Industries, and G2, G2P2, K, and SL manufactured by Teijin DuPont Films.
Examples of the nylon film include Harden Film N-1100, N-1102, and N-1200 manufactured by Toyobo, and ON, NX, MS, and NK manufactured by Unitika.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

(Example 1)
The precoating liquid and black, cyan, magenta, yellow, and white water-based inks were each filled into the ink container of a modified inkjet recording device (trade name: VC-60000, manufactured by Ricoh Co., Ltd.), and printing was performed. The modified inkjet recording device was modified to have the configuration shown in FIG. Using this modified inkjet recording device, continuous printing was performed under the following printing conditions.

<Printing conditions>
・Printing speed: 50m/min ・Resolution: 1200 x 1200dpi
・Printed image: A solid image of white ink was layered on top of a solid image with equal amounts of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. ・Non-permeable base material: OPP 20 μm film (product name: Pylene P2161, Toyobo Co., Ltd.) company)
・Corona treatment device: Discharge amount 20W・min/m ²
・First coating liquid applying means: Roll coater ・Drying means immediately after applying first coating liquid: Warm air drying (hot air temperature 80°C, wind speed 20 m/s)
・Hot air drying method for ink: Hot air temperature 150℃, wind speed 20m/s
・Warm air drying nozzle width: 6mm
・Hot air recovery means: None ・Substrate support diameter: 60mm
・Base material support temperature: Hot water 70℃, 10 rolls connected in parallel

(evaluation)
After printing under the conditions of Example 1 above, the film quality, drying quality, and power consumption used for drying of the printed matter were evaluated according to the following methods and evaluation criteria.

<Film quality>
The film quality of the printed image at the end of printing was visually observed and evaluated based on the following criteria. A case where the evaluation was C or higher was judged to be practical.

[Evaluation criteria]
A: No abnormality is observed. B: No abnormality can be observed visually, but wrinkles on the film can be observed with a magnifying glass. C: Slight wrinkles can be observed visually in the printed image. D: Wrinkles can be observed visually throughout the printed image. can

<Drying quality>
The drying quality at the end of printing was evaluated by rubbing the printed image with a nonwoven fabric and using the following criteria. A case where the evaluation was C or higher was judged to be practical.

[Evaluation criteria]
A: No abnormality is observed. B: No abnormality can be observed visually, but scratches on the printed image can be observed with a magnifying glass. C: Slight peeling can be observed on the printed image with the naked eye. D: Peeling is observed throughout the printed image with the naked eye. can be observed

<Power consumption required for drying>
The power consumption used for hot air drying and heating of the substrate support part was calculated and evaluated based on the following criteria. A case where the evaluation was C or higher was judged to be practical.

[Evaluation criteria]
A: Less than 40kW.
B: 40kW or more and less than 60kW C: 60kW or more and less than 80kW D: 80kW or more

(Example 2)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that hot air at 70° C. was flowed instead of hot water at 70° C. as a heating means for the substrate support portion.

(Example 3)
Under the printing conditions of Example 1, instead of flowing 70°C hot water with 10 rolls connected in parallel as a heating means for the substrate support, 70°C warm water was flowed with 8 rolls connected in parallel, and hot water was not flowed on 2 rolls. Further, evaluation was carried out in the same manner except that the hot air drying section facing the two-roll substrate support section was not allowed to flow hot air.

(Example 4)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that instead of flowing 70°C warm water with 10 rolls connected in parallel, 70°C warm water was flowed with 10 rolls connected in series as the heating means for the substrate support part. carried out.

(Example 5)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 100° C. warm water was flowed instead of flowing 70° C. hot water with 10 rolls connected in parallel as a heating means for the substrate support portion.

(Example 6)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that 50° C. hot water was used as a heating means for the substrate support, instead of 70° C. hot water being flowed in 10 rolls connected in parallel.

(Example 7)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the diameter of the base material support part was changed from 60 mm to 30 mm.

(Example 8)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the diameter of the base material support part was changed from 60 mm to 180 mm.

(Example 9)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a hot air collection means was added and half of the collected hot air was reused in the hot air drying section.

(Example 10)
Under the printing conditions of Example 3, instead of forming a solid image of white ink on top of a solid image with equal amounts of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow in the printed image, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow were printed. Evaluation was carried out in the same manner except that only solid images with equal volume were used and printed images without white ink solid images were used.

(Example 11)
Under the printing conditions of Example 4, instead of forming a solid image of white ink on top of a solid image with equal amounts of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow in the printed image, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow were used. Evaluation was carried out in the same manner except that only solid images with equal volume were used and printed images without white ink solid images were used.

(Example 12)
Under the printing conditions of Example 1, instead of flowing 70° C. hot water with 10 rolls connected in parallel as a heating means for the substrate support, 100° C. hot water was formed by a stationary heater provided inside each of the 10 rolls, Furthermore, evaluation was carried out in the same manner except that the hot air temperature of the ink drying means was changed from 150°C to 120°C.

(Example 13)
Under the printing conditions of Example 1, instead of flowing 70° C. hot water with 10 rolls connected in parallel as a heating means for the substrate support, 100° C. hot water was formed by a stationary heater provided inside each of the 10 rolls, Furthermore, evaluation was carried out in the same manner except that the hot air temperature of the ink drying means was changed from 150°C to 140°C.

(Example 14)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the hot air temperature of the ink drying means was changed from 150° C. to 180° C.

(Comparative example 1)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that instead of using a substrate support section through which liquid flows, a substrate support section without internal temperature control function was used under the printing conditions of Example 1.

(Comparative example 2)
Evaluation was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that one large base material support part 111 shown in FIG. 2 was used instead of using a plurality of base material support parts under the printing conditions of Example 1.

Table 1 shows the evaluation results carried out in Examples 1 to 14 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2. As shown by the results, according to the present invention, excellent drying quality can be obtained with low drying energy.

Other Embodiments In the above embodiments, a drying apparatus suitable for drying a non-permeable base material and an image forming apparatus using the same have been described. can be obtained. For example, a permeable base material may be used as the base material.

A liquid ejection system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes at least a drying device constituted by the above-mentioned drying means, and a liquid ejection device constituted by the above-mentioned ejection means. The image forming apparatus described with reference to FIGS. 1, 6, etc. is an example of a liquid ejection system. The liquid ejection system is not limited to the image forming apparatus described above, as long as it has a drying device that dries the liquid ejected onto the substrate by the liquid ejection device.

According to the drying device or liquid ejection system described in each of the above embodiments, it is possible to provide sufficient drying ability and reduce drying energy compared to the conventional technology.

10 Stationary heater 11 Filling section 100, 200 Image forming device 101 Unwinding device 102 Non-permeable base material 103 Corona treatment device 104 First coating liquid application device 105 First coating liquid drying device 106 Inkjet discharge head 107 Platen 108 Hot air drying section 109 Base material support section 110 Winding device 111 Base material support section (large drum heater)
112 Hot air recovery section 113 Temperature control section 114, 117 Manifold 115, 116 Heating medium supply path

JP2016-78428A Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-107519 Patent No. 5898550

Claims (6)

A drying device for drying a base material,
A warm air drying section that blows hot air;
A plurality of drying units each having a base material support section installed on the opposite side of the hot air drying section with respect to the base material,
The base material support part is
a filling section filled with at least one of a liquid and a gas;
a heat source provided inside the filling part,
A drying device including a path that communicates with a plurality of the filling parts and allows at least one of the liquid and the gas to circulate . The drying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a control means for controlling the temperatures of the plurality of substrate supporting parts at different temperatures. The drying apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the control means is capable of controlling the temperature of the substrate support part to be 50 to 100 degrees Celsius lower than the temperature of the hot air. The warm air drying section blows the warm air from a nozzle,
The drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the base material support part has a cylindrical shape and a diameter that is 5 times or more and 30 times or less the width of the nozzle. The drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising a hot air recovery unit that recovers the hot air blown by the hot air drying unit. A drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
A liquid ejection system comprising a liquid ejection device.

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