Design of sol-gel coating media for ink-jet printing

Image transfer and storage is rapidly becoming one of the most important technologies in the communication age. Ink-jet printing by which multicolor images are transferred onto paper and transparencies is a major branch of this technology. In this technology electronic image transfer capabilities are often limited by the shortcomings in the materials used. The coating designed to receive the ink determines the ink-dry time, edge acuity or patterns, color fidelity, as well as light and water fastness of the print. These in turn govern the speed, resolution and quality of the image transferred. Chemical, structural and process parameters involved in the design of a transparent, single layer sol-gel coating media for ink-jet printing are discussed. Design goals include quick drying of the print, water resistance, edge acuity without bleeding, UV protection of color dyes, and being printer nonspecific.