Tektronix, Inc.

B M Karandikar

Loc V Bui

Hue Phuoc Le

An aqueous phase change ink contains a selected concentration of hyperthermogelling component that causes the ink to gel when its temperature is increased to its thermo-inversion point or when the concentration of the hyperthermogelling component is increased by evaporation, or substrate absorption, of water from the ink. The ink may be jetted directly onto a heated and/or absorptive substrate or jetted onto a cooler and/or hydrophobic surface before being transferred to the substrate. The thermo-inversion point is preferably about ambient temperature, and the preferred hyperthermogelling component is a nonionic surfactant, such as an ethylene oxide propylene oxide block copolymer surfactant.

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Lake Oswego, OR, United States of America

B M Karandikar