Paper precoat process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12247356-B2
Application number	US-202117476649-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 16, 2021
Priority date	Sep 16, 2021
Publication date	Mar 11, 2025
Grant date	Mar 11, 2025

Abstract

A process including providing a paper substrate; disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto all or a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper; applying an image onto the treated paper using a toner or an aqueous ink to provide an imaged paper; wherein the water soluble precoat composition forms a temporary barrier between the toner or aqueous ink and the paper substrate; and wherein, during a paper pulping process, the water soluble precoat composition dissolves thereby releasing the toner or aqueous ink from the paper substrate.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process consisting of:
providing a paper substrate;
disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper;
applying an image onto the water soluble precoat composition using a toner or an aqueous ink to provide an imaged paper;
wherein the water soluble precoat composition forms a temporary barrier between the toner or aqueous ink and the paper substrate; and
wherein, during a paper pulping process, the water soluble precoat composition dissolves thereby releasing the toner or aqueous ink from the paper substrate.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises a material that is stable at ambient humidity and dissolves under pulping conditions of higher temperature of above about 60° C.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises a member selected from the group consisting of consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid, poly(ethylene glycol), polyacrylamide, polysaccharide, cellulose ether and combinations thereof.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises a member selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylic acid, and poly(ethylene glycol).

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises polyvinyl alcohol.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises a member selected from the group consisting of starch, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, xanthan gum, pectin, dextran, and combinations thereof.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the paper substrate comprises a member selected from the group consisting of plain paper, offset paper, coated paper, uncoated paper, and inkjet paper.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the paper substrate comprises plain paper.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein applying an image onto the treated paper comprises applying the image using a xerographic printing process.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein applying an image onto the water soluble precoat composition comprises applying the image using an ink jet printing process.

11. The process of claim 1 , wherein disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises in line flood coating the water soluble precoat composition onto all or a portion of the paper substrate.

12. The process of claim 1 , wherein disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises spray coating the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate.

13. The process of claim 1 , wherein disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises digitally ink jetting the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate.

14. The process of claim 1 , further comprising drying the applied water soluble precoat composition.

15. The process of claim 1 , wherein the paper pulping process comprises agitating the imaged paper with water and optional chemicals to provide pieces of paper pulp.

16. The process of claim 1 , wherein the paper pulping process comprises agitating the imaged paper with only water without other chemicals to provide pieces of paper pulp.

17. The process of claim 1 , wherein the paper pulping process comprises agitating the imaged paper with water to provide pieces of paper pulp; and
using a deinking process to separate the toner or aqueous ink from the paper pulp.

18. A process consisting of:
providing a paper substrate;
disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper;
wherein the water soluble precoat composition comprises polyvinyl alcohol;
applying an image onto the water soluble precoat composition using a toner or an aqueous ink to provide an imaged paper;
wherein the water soluble precoat composition forms a temporary barrier between the toner or aqueous ink and the paper substrate;
wherein, during a paper pulping process, the water soluble precoat composition dissolves thereby releasing the toner or aqueous ink from the paper substrate; and
wherein the paper pulping process comprises agitating the imaged paper with only water without other chemicals to provide pieces of paper pulp.

19. The process of claim 18 , wherein applying an image onto the water soluble precoat composition comprises applying the image using a xerographic printing process or an ink jet printing process.

20. The process of claim 18 , wherein disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises in line flood coating the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate, spray coating the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate, or ink jetting the water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate.

21. The process of claim 1 , wherein disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises selectively disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto image receiving areas of the paper substrate while leaving non-image receiving areas of the paper uncoated.

22. The process of claim 18 , wherein disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto a portion of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper comprises selectively disposing the water soluble precoat composition onto image receiving areas of the paper substrate while leaving non-image receiving areas of the paper uncoated.

23. A process comprising:
providing a paper substrate;
disposing a water soluble precoat composition onto image receiving areas of the paper substrate to provide a treated paper;
applying an image onto the water soluble precoat composition using a toner or an aqueous ink to provide an imaged paper;
wherein the water soluble precoat composition forms a temporary barrier between the toner or aqueous ink and the paper substrate; and
wherein, during a paper pulping process, the water soluble precoat composition dissolves thereby releasing the toner or aqueous ink from the paper substrate.

Assignees

• Xerox Corp

Inventors

• Sambhy Varun
• Flores Eliud Robles
• Gutberlet Douglas A
• Sawicki Paul F

Classifications

• D21H19/12

  applied as a solution using water as the only solvent, e.g. in the presence of acid or alkaline compounds · CPC title

• B41M5/0011

  Pre-treatment or treatment during printing of the recording material, e.g. heating, irradiating (after-treatment of prints B41M7/00; printers for treating or overcoating copy materials before, during or after printing B41J11/0015) · CPC title

• D21H23/50

  Spraying or projecting (D21H23/44, D21H23/66 take precedence) · CPC title

• D21C5/025

  De-inking · CPC title

• B41M7/0009

  Obliterating the printed matter; Non-destructive removal of the ink pattern, e.g. for repetitive use of the support · CPC title