Patent ID: 8759417

Claim:
An aqueous ink comprising a dispersing element of a pigment encapsulated with a polymer and rendered dispersible in water, and two or more members selected from an acetylene glycol-base surfactant, an acetylene alcohol-base surfactant, a silicon-base surfactant, a glycol ether and an 1,2-alkylene glycol having a carbon number of 4 to 10, wherein the amount of an aromatic ring in said polymer is from 25 to 50 wt % of said polymer, and wherein the aqueous ink comprises a liquid component in which the dispersing element is dispersed, wherein the liquid component contains a total amount of polyvalent metal ions of 200 ppm or less, and does not contain any one of Si, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cr, Ni or Zr ions in an amount of more than 50 ppm.