A carbon black aqueous dispersion which has excellent dispersibility and
ink performance and is suitable as an aqueous black ink for an inkjet
printer or the like, and a method of producing the same. The carbon black
aqueous dispersion is obtained by spraying a slurry including carbon
black, a surface chemical modifier, and an aqueous medium under pressure
from a nozzle to cause collision between sprayed streams or between
sprayed streams and a wall surface. The carbon black agglomerates have a
maximum particle diameter of 1 .mu.m or less. The production method
includes mixing carbon black and a surface chemical modifier into an
aqueous medium to form a slurry, and spraying the slurry from a nozzle
under pressure to cause collision between sprayed streams or between
sprayed streams and a wall surface to atomize and chemically modify
carbon black agglomerates, thereby finely dispersing the carbon black in
the aqueous medium to such an extent that the carbon black agglomerates
have a maximum particle diameter of 1 .mu.m or less.