Patent attributes
The present invention provides a pigment water dispersion that is excellent in dispersion stability, and also excellent in ejection properties even when used as an ink for ink-jet printing. The present invention relates to [1] a pigment water dispersion containing (A) a pigment, (B) a carboxy group-containing crosslinked polymer and (C) an alkyl group-containing ethanolamine having a pKa of not less than 8.7, [2] a water-based ink containing the pigment water dispersion, an organic solvent and a surfactant, and [3] a process for producing a pigment water dispersion, including step (I) of subjecting a mixture containing the pigment (A), a crosslinkable polymer, the aforementioned ethanolamine (C), an organic solvent and water to dispersion treatment, thereby obtaining a dispersion of pigment-containing polymer particles containing the pigment (A) and the crosslinkable polymer that is adhered onto the pigment (A); step (II) of removing the organic solvent from the obtained dispersion, thereby obtaining a water dispersion of the pigment-containing polymer particles; and step (III) of further subjecting the polymer to crosslinking reaction with a crosslinking agent, thereby obtaining the pigment water dispersion containing pigment-containing crosslinked polymer (B) particles.
