Patent ID: 8377316

Claim:
A method of producing an imaging surface for an imaging system useful for inkjet printing, comprising: providing a metallic substrate, the imaging surface comprising the metallic substrate; coating said metallic substrate with an elastomer layer having a chemically-reactive filler or base mixed therewith; etching said coating with an effective concentration of an acid reactive with the filler or base exposed at the surface of the coating, thereby providing reaction products including water-soluble salt at the surface of the coating; and forming pits in the coating surface by washing the surface with an aqueous liquid to remove said reaction products, thereby producing a elastomer coated aluminum drum having a textured surface with an average roughness, Ra, of from about 0.2 to about 1.5 microns, a texture density of about 10 4 to about 10 7 pits per cm 2 , each such pit having an opening of from about 0.5 to about 5 microns, and a depth of from about 0.5 to about 10 microns.