Patent ID: 7226714

Claim:
A process for producing a polymerized toner, comprising a step 1 of preparing a polymerizable monomer composition comprising at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant, and a step 2 of polymerizing the polymerizable monomer composition in an aqueous medium to form colored polymer particles, wherein: said step 1 comprises a dispersing step of dispersing said colorant finely in a mixed solution comprising at least a polymerizable monomer and a colorant with a dispersing machine, wherein: (1) said dispersing machine is a media type dispersing machine which comprises a cylindrical casing having a liquid inlet and a liquid outlet, in which there are provided a driving shaft, and a rotor and a media particle separation screen mounted on said driving shaft and operable to rotate simultaneously in association with rotation of said driving shaft, wherein said rotor is provided at one end with a cylindrical portion having a plurality of media particle discharge slits, said media particle separation screen is located inside the cylindrical portion of said rotor, a liquid introduced from the liquid inlet into the casing passes through the media particle separation screen and leaves the casing through the liquid outlet via a discharge path interposed between the driving shaft and said rotor, and media particles are contained in an internal space between the inner surface of the casing and the outer surface of the rotor, and (2) said dispersing step comprises a step of continuously feeding a mixed liquid comprising at least the polymerizable monomer and the colorant from the liquid inlet into the casing, while the rotor and media particle separation screen are simultaneously rotated in association with the rotation of said driving shaft, so that the colorant is finely dispersed in said mixed liquid by virtue of centrifugal force generated by rotation of the rotor and media particles, and passing a polymerizable monomer dispersion with the colorant finely dispersed therein through the media particle separation screen to deliver the dispersion out of said dispersing machine through the liquid outlet such that the media particles receive the centrifugal force of the rotating media particle separation screen and return to the internal space between the inner surface of the casing and the outer surface of the rotor while the polymerizable monomer dispersion is discharged.