Pitney Bowes Inc.

Richard A Bernard

Judith D Auslander

Ronald P Sansone

Thyagaraj Sarada

Shunichi Higashiyama

Akihiko Taniguchi

Claude Zeller

Jerome E Jackson

Noriatsu Aoi

Daniel F Dlugos

Edilberto I Salazar

Jay Reichelsheimer

Charles F Murphy, Iii

Donald G Mackay

Denis J Stemmle, Sr

Richard A Connell

Pushpavadan S Nagarsheth

Fran E Blackman

Karin A Russo

Norman C Hochwalt

Peter G Edelman

Bettadapur S Ananthamurthy

William F McDonough

James A Montlick

John N Moody

Anthony A Alusik

Judith A Auslander

A water-based ink for inkjet recording exhibits a blue color defined as L*&#x3c;45, 25&#x3c;C*&#x3c;28, 255&#x3c;h&#x3c;278, and comprises a mixture of dyes and pigments, glycerol and polyethylene glycol #200 as water-soluble organic solvents and a polymeric dispersant. The ink will preferably have a ratio of glycerol to polyethylene glycol 200 within the range of from 2:1 to 3.5 1. The water-based ink preferably includes C.I. Pigment Blue 60 as a colorant and provides good printing stability and good storage stability. Tests show the inks to have good jettability.

Postal blue ink with high reliability

A water-based ink for inkjet recording exhibits a blue color defined as L*&#x3c;45, 25&#x3c;C*&#x3c;28, 255&#x3c;h&#x3c;278, and comprises a mixture of dyes and pigments, specifically including C.I. Pigment Blue 60 and C.I. Acid Blue 90, with water and a water-soluble organic solvent. The blue ink provide an image which has good water resistance and high optical density.

Postal blue ink with improved durability

A signaling label for use in postage payment evidencing is described including a luminescent signaling section having a primarily green fluorescent ink coating. In one configuration, a primarily green fluorescent ink includes approximately 12 weight percent of a pigment selected from the quinazolinone class of pigments mixed with an acrylic varnish base to provide a primarily green fluorescent signal having with sufficient red fluorescent response to a short UV excitation to trigger a USPS facing system is described.

Signaling labels and fluorescent ink compositions

An envelope that enables personal computer printers to be able to print a Facing Identification Mark (FIM) as part of a Information-Based Indicia (IBI) registered along the top edge of the envelope. The personal computer printers will also be able to print the FIM, IBI, the recipient's address and the sender's address without the glue on the envelope closure flap adhering to the body of the envelope, which would seal or partially seal the envelope, potentially rendering the envelope useless.

Envelope that is conducive to printing a facing identification mark with an information based indicia

Ink compositions described are suitable for ink jet printing (ink jet inks) and are highly effective for simultaneously imparting visible and fluorescent images. In the preferred forms, both a dark, visible image and a complementary fluorescent image will be visually discernable as well as machine readable to enable efficient hand and automated processing or handling of the objects printed. These results are achieved by ink formulations that moderate the natural phenomena of quenching while possessing the physical properties necessary for an ink jet ink. In one form, the inks comprise a first colorant comprising a fluorescent dye embedded in a polymeric matrix, the fluorescent dye emitting light within a characteristic emission band when excited by fluorescent-exciting radiation; a second colorant comprising a dye or pigment having a light absorption band at longer wavelengths than the characteristic emission band of the first colorant; and an aqueous liquid vehicle comprising water and a water-soluble vehicle in sufficient amounts to achieve an ink viscosity and surface tension effective for application of the ink to a substrate in a predetermined pattern by ink jet printing. The colorants are present in combination in the aqueous ink in amounts effective to cause the ink, when dry, to exhibit a dark color due to the net absorption spectra of the colorants in the visual range and machine-readable or visually-discernable fluorescence when subjected to fluorescent-exciting radiation.

Photosensitive optically variable ink heterogeneous compositions for ink jet printing

A method of printing a composite image composed of a postage indicia image and an adjacent nondescript image on an image receiving medium is disclosed. The postage indicia image contains alpha-numeric data which must be machine readable and therefore must be printed with a high quality water fast ink, and is printed with a printing device utilizing ink jet technology. The nondescript image is merely a flag image containing fluorescent material and does not contain alpha-numeric data that must be machine readable, and therefore can be printed by any other suitable printer using commercially available fluorescent ink.

Method of printing postage indicia using ink jet technology

Color imparting compositions for ink jet printer inks, as well as inks with such color imparting compositions therein, which can be used in a commercially available ink jet printer or the ink jet printer of a postage metering system to print machine readable information based indicia, such as postage, on a substrate, such as an envelope, are disclosed. The color imparting composition includes a water soluble black colorant material adapted to absorb light in a wavelength range between about 400 to 650 nm, such as Reactive Black 31 dye or Direct Black 195 dye, and a water soluble cyan colorant material having a molar extinction coefficient of at least 10,000 at a wavelength maximum in the range of about 580 to 750 nm, such as Direct Blue 307, Direct Blue 199 or Acid Blue 9. The weight ratio of the black colorant material to the cyan colorant material in the color imparting composition is in the range of about 50 to 1 to about 5 to 6.

Color imparting compositions for ink jet printer inks and machine readable ink compositions containing same

An ink composition suitable for printing machine readable indicia on a substrate with an ink jet printing device is disclosed. The disclosed ink composition comprises water, a water soluble resin, a red fluorescent colorant material mixture comprising C.I. Basic yellow 40 dye, C.I. Basic Red 1 dye, and C.I. Basic Violet 11:1 dye, and a blue colorant material comprising C.I. Acid Blue 9. In the preferred embodiments of the ink composition, the dyes in the red fluorescent colorant material mixture are present in a weight ratio of approximately 1.12 to 1.36 to 1, respectively, and the weight ratio of the red fluorescent colorant material mixture to the blue colorant material is in the range of about 3.8 to 1 to about 46 to 1.

Machine readable water based red fluorescent ink compositions

A ink that is printed under a printed information-based indicia so that the information-based indicia will not require a Facing Identification Mark (FIM). The ink provides the foregoing result by being both fluorescent and phosphorescent. Current desk top printers and color photocopiers are not capable of duplicating fluorescence and phosphorescence at the same time.

Fluorescent and phosphorescent ink for use with an information based indicia

An information based indicia (IBI) that does not require a FIM and is able to be read by Advanced Facer Canceller Systems. The foregoing is accomplished by printing on the mail piece an upper layer IBI indicia over a lower layer invisible ink. The lower layer ink is a dual luminescent ink that is invisible to the naked eye and the upper layer IBI indicia is printed with an ink that is visible to the naked eye. The lower layer may also be produced by two inks, one of which is fluorescent and the other of which is phosphorescent. The fluorescent ink will be printed in one area of the lower layer and the phosphorescent inks will be printed in another area of the lower layer.

Usage of dual luminescent inks to produce a postal orienting and sorting

The status of deposits or withdrawals of items in a receptacle is indicated to one or more users having access to the receptacle. A receptacle is accessible by at least one user and is capable of containing an item. A deposit/withdrawal sensor for sensing a deposit or withdrawal of an item in the receptacle is also provided. A user identifier for identifying a user having access to the receptacle during the deposit or withdrawal of the item sensed by the deposit/withdrawal sensor is employed by the system. One or more indicators that are responsive to the deposit/withdrawal sensor and the user identifier are provided to indicate a deposit or withdrawal of the item in the receptacle by the identified user. The indicators may be placed on the receptacle or may be located remote from the receptacle.

Status indicating system for indicating the deposit and withdrawal of

A fluorescent ink that makes tagger marks and is able to be used in valve jet printers at a rate of four #10 envelopes per second. The ink also penetrates paper at a rapid rate and dries at the same time it is penetrating the paper, without degrading the print quality. The penetrating agent solvent system may be isopropyl alcohol in combination with a surfactant. The surfactant may be polyethylene glycol ethers. Polyethylene glycol ethers have a high boiling point and low vapor pressure. The penetrating agent solvent system has a low boiling point and high vapor pressure and a low static and dynamic surface tension. This improves the inks rate of penetration into the paper and diminishes the amount of offset.

Fluorescent valve jet ink

Inks have been discovered that may be used for providing additional security to the printed matter to which the ink has been affixed. A single ink provides the foregoing result by being fluorescent and phosphorescent.

Fluorescent and phosphorescent tagged ink for indicia

A postal indicia is disclosed that contains markings thereon which may be used to distinguish between availability or non availability of additional security and sorting information. The foregoing will make the handling of the mail faster and more efficient. The ink that is used to print portions of the indicia is fluorescent for conventional indicia printing and fluorescent and phosphorescent for value added bit map generated printing.

Growing community of inventors

Norwalk, CT, United States of America

Richard A Bernard