Patent ID: 6132858
Filing Date: 2000-10-17
Classification: B41M

Abstract:
A printing medium for use with an ink jet printer, the printing medium comprising:a substrate; anda porous coating layer formed on the substrate using a particle-free phase inversion technique in which a polymeric dope solution containing a polymer completely dissolved in a solvent is coated on the substrate and then subjected to a non-solvent quench which causes the polymeric dope solution to phase invert to form a porous capillary structure;wherein the porous coating layer has average pore sizes between about 0.1 and about 10 micrometers and a water permeability greater than about 120 ml/m.sup.2 .multidot.sec.multidot.atm; andwherein when an ink solution is placed upon the porous coating layer, at least one component of the ink solution is drawn into the porous coating layer to dry the ink solution on the porous coating layer in less than about 10 seconds.