ColorLok - the new Standard for ink-jet papers?

Hewlett Packard has forged ahead with the branding of a new standard for ink-jet papers. After developing and patenting an approach for improving the ink-jet printability of paper, they worked with International Paper to prove the process and subsequently established a standard, ColorLok (www.colorlok.com).

Using a combination of materials which are readily available - a cationic polymer (eg a dye fixative such as a dicyandiamide-formaldehyde condensate) and a divalent metal ion solution (calcium chloride is often quoted in the patents) - in a size press application (surface coating of the paper) the surface of the paper is improved to fix the ink at the surface and give improvements in ink-jet printability (not forgetting the other requirements of these multi-purpose papers eg laser printing using toners):

• Improved water-fastness
• More vivid print colours - improved print density
• Improved print resolution - less wicking and colour-to-colour bleed
• faster drying of the ink - less smearing and faster handling time

There has been some co-ordination of the development of the ColorLok papers and HP Vivera inks and HP ColorSphere toner, described by HP as, ‘Optimally co-ordinated innovations that make it possible to create professional-quality printed documents’.

If paper companies are interested in adopting the standard they need to be accredited and the Rochester Institute of Technology has been selected to do the testing etc. The paper company can either use its own approaches to meeting the standard or the application know-how can be purchased from Hewlett Packard.

A number of paper companies (eg IP, April, Domtar, Mondi, M-real and Suzano) have signed up to using the ColorLok brand and it will be interesting to see how this marketing venture develops.


Additional information is given in the following articles:
printweek.com
Hewlett-Packard's web site
www.colorlok.com
Office World News