Patent ID: 7455400

Claim:
An aqueous fluorescent ink comprising a first coloring material, a second coloring material, and a liquid medium and water for dissolving or dispersing the coloring materials, wherein at least one of the first coloring material and the second coloring material is a fluorescent coloring material, the ink being capable of forming on a recording medium a first region, in which the first coloring material is concentrated with the second coloring material, and a second region, in which the second coloring material is present alone, to surround the entire periphery of the first region including a portion in the recording medium, wherein the first coloring material is a water-dispersible coloring material comprising a number of water-dispersible particles, and the second coloring material is a water-soluble coloring material, and wherein the first region includes a plurality of minute fixed spots of the first coloring material scattered in a fixed spot of the second coloring material, each of the minute fixed spots comprising a number of water-dispersible particles of the first coloring material in a coagulated state.