Gel-forming inks for use in the alleviation of bleed

DETAILED DESCRIPTION What is claimed is: 1.
A method for printing multi-color images on a print medium in which color bleed between adjacent colored regions is controlled comprising the steps of: (a) providing two compositions, a first composition comprising a gel-forming species and a second composition comprising a gel-initiating species which is capable of reacting with said first composition in order to form a gel therefrom, provided that at least one of said two compositions includes at least one coloring agent; (b) applying said first composition to said print medium in a first region thereon; (c) applying said second composition to said print medium in a second region thereon, said second region being directly adjacent to and in contact with said first region; and (d) allowing said gel-initiating species in said second composition to react with said gel-forming species in said first composition at a position on said print medium where said first region comes in contact with said second region so that said gel is formed at said position in order to prevent color bleed between said first composition in said first region and said second composition in said second region.
2.
The method of claim 1 wherein said gel-forming species is selected from the group consisting of agar, algin, carrageenan, fucoidan, laminaran, gum arabic, corn hull gum, gum ghatti, guar gum, karaya gum, locust bean gum, pectin, dextrans, starches, carboxymethylcellulose, and polyvinyl alcohol and wherein said gel-initiating species is selected from the group consisting of sodium borate, mineral acids, organic acids, and protonated tertiary amines.
3.
The method of claim 2 wherein said mineral acids are selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphorous acid, and sulfurous acid, said organic acids are selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, propionic acid, benzoic acid, phthalic acid, and said protonated tertiary amine consists essentially of trimethyl ammonium hydrochloride