Inkjet printed articles and method of making

1. A method for inkjet printing, comprising, in order:

A) providing an inkjet receiving medium comprising a substrate and a topcoat composition disposed on a surface thereof, which topcoat composition comprises the following (a), (b), and (c) components:

(a) one or more water-soluble salts of a multivalent metal cation, which (a) one or more water-soluble salts are present in an amount of at least 0.4 weight % and up to and including 40 weight %;

(b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials that are present in an amount of at least 0.5 weight % and up to and including 90 weight %; and

(c) visible light-scattering particles that have been surface-treated so that the surface-treated visible light-scattering particles have a stable zeta potential of greater than +4 millivolts (mV) using one or more (f) dispersing aids, and which surface-treated visible light-scattering particles are present in an amount of at least 6 weight % and up to and including 90 weight %,

wherein the one or more (f) dispersing aids are each cationic in cumulative charge, are different from the (a) one or more water-soluble salts of a multivalent metal cation, and are present in the topcoat composition in an amount of at least 0.2 weight % and up to and including 50 weight %, based on the total weight of the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering particles, and

wherein the amounts of the (a), (b), and (c) components are based on the total weight of the topcoat composition; and

B) inkjet printing one or more aqueous pigment-based inks onto the topcoat composition to provide a pigment-based image or layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

C) applying an aqueous colorless ink composition to the pigment-based image or layer.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising printing one or more aqueous pigment-based inks onto the topcoat composition that is disposed on the substrate surface as a pattern, to provide a pigment-based image in registration with the pattern of the topcoat composition using an inkjet deposition system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more aqueous pigment-based inks is supplied from respective main fluid supplies as one or more continuous streams, each of which one or more continuous streams is broken into both printing drops and non-printing drops; and

collecting and returning the non-printing drops from each of the one or more continuous streams to respective main fluid supplies.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more aqueous pigment-based inks has a viscosity of less than or equal to 5 centipoise (5 mPa-sec) as measured at 25° C. using a rolling ball viscometer.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising disposing the topcoat composition on the substrate surface in a pattern using flexographic printing, and the B) inkjet printing of one or more aqueous pigment-based inks onto the pattern of the topcoat composition provides a pigment-based image in registration with the pattern of the topcoat composition.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising disposing the topcoat composition on the substrate surface, and the B) inkjet printing, carried out in-line at different stations of a multi-station apparatus.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a transparent, translucent, or metallized polymeric film, or a co-extrudate or a laminate of two or more transparent, translucent, or metallized polymeric films.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the topcoat composition has a dry solids coating weight of at least 0.1 g/m 2 and up to and including 2 g/m 2 .

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the topcoat composition further comprises:

(d) particles different from the (c) component, which (d) particles have a Rockwell Hardness of less than or equal to R90, and which are present in an amount of at least 0.06 weight % and up to and including 10 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the topcoat composition further comprises:

(e) a crosslinkable polymeric material that is different from all of the (a), (b), and (c) components, and which (e) crosslinkable polymeric material is present in an amount of at least 0.1 weight % and up to and including 30 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the (b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials comprise at least a polyvinyl alcohol, a polyethylene imine, a polyethylene oxide, a polyvinyl amine, a copolymer derived at least in part from vinyl alcohol and ethylene oxide, a copolymer derived at least in part from vinyl amine and vinyl alcohol, or a combination of two or more of these materials.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the (f) dispersing aid is a polymer having a protonated nitrogen atom.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the (b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials comprise at least a polyvinyl amine, a polyethylene imine, a polyvinyl alcohol, or a copolymer derived at least in part from vinyl amine and vinyl alcohol, and the (f) dispersing agent comprises at least a protonated polyethylene imine or protonated polyvinyl amine.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering particles comprise silicon dioxide, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, barium sulfate, magnesium oxide, or a combination of two or more of these materials.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises a transparent polymeric film, and the topcoat composition has a dry solids coating weight of at least 0.2 g/m 2 and up to and including 2 g/m 2 , and the topcoat composition comprises:

the (a) one or more water-soluble salts of magnesium (+2), calcium (+2), barium (+2), or a mixture thereof, which (a) one or more water-soluble salts are present in an amount of at least 0.4 weight % and up to and including 40 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition;

the (b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials that comprise at least a polyvinyl alcohol, a polyvinyl amine, polyethylene imine, a copolymer derived at least in part from vinyl amine and vinyl alcohol, or a combination of two or more of these polymeric materials, the (b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials are present in an amount of at least 2 weight % and up to and including 90 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition;

the (c) visible light-scattering particles comprising visible light-scattering titanium dioxide particles, which have been surface-treated to have a stable zeta potential of greater than +4 millivolts (mV) using a (f) dispersing aid described below, and which surface-treated visible light-scattering titanium dioxide particles that exhibit a Dso particle size of at least 0.04 μm and up to and including 2 μm, as measured using a particle size analyzer that provides a volume-weighted particle size distribution, and which surface-treated visible light-scattering titanium dioxide particles are present in an amount of at least 6 weight % and up to and including 90 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition;

(d) particles different from the (c) component, which (d) particles have a Rockwell Hardness of less than or equal to R75, and which are present in an amount of at least 0.06 weight % and up to and including 10 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition;

(e) a crosslinkable polymeric material that is different from all of the (a), (b), (c), and (d) components, and which (e) crosslinkable polymeric material is present in an amount of at least 0.1 weight % and up to and including 20 weight %, based on the total weight of the topcoat composition; and

(f) the dispersing aid for the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering titanium dioxide particles, which (f) dispersing aid is a polymer having a protonated nitrogen atom and is present in the topcoat composition in an amount of at least 0.2 weight % and up to and including 50 weight %, based on the total weight of the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering titanium dioxide particles.

17. A method for providing an inkjet-printed article, comprising, in order:

A′) providing a transparent substrate having a surface,

A″) providing an inkjet receiving medium by disposing an aqueous composition onto the surface of the substrate to form a topcoat composition, which aqueous composition has at least 2% solids and up to and including 90% solids, and the aqueous composition comprises the following (a), (b), and (c) components:

(a) one or more water-soluble salts of a multivalent metal cation, which (a) one or more water-soluble salts are present in an amount of at least 0.5 weight % and up to and including 30 weight %;

(b) one or more nonionic or cationic water-soluble or water-dispersible polymeric binder materials that are present in an amount of at least 0.1 weight % and up to and including 30 weight %; and

(c) visible light-scattering particles that have been surface-treated such that the aqueous composition has a stable zeta potential of greater than +4 millivolts using one or more (f) dispersing aids, and which surface-treated visible light-scattering particles are present in an amount of at least 5 weight % and up to and including 60 weight %,

wherein the one or more (f) dispersing aids are each cationic in cumulative charge, are different from the (a) one or more water-soluble salts of a multivalent metal cation, and are present in the topcoat composition in an amount of at least 0.2 weight % and up to and including 50 weight %, based on the total weight of the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering particles, and

wherein the amounts of the (a), (b), and (c) components are based on the total weight of the aqueous composition; and

B) inkjet printing one or more aqueous pigment-based inks onto the topcoat composition to provide a pigment-based image or layer.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the topcoat composition disposed on the surface of the substrate that is transparent, has an opacity of at least 30%.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more (f) dispersing aids has at least one protonated nitrogen atom, and are present in an amount of at least 1 weight % and up to and including 20 weight %, based on the total weight of the (c) surface-treated visible light-scattering particles.

20. The meth of claim 1 , wherein the one or more (f) dispersing aids are chosen from a protonated polyvinyl amine, a protonated polyethylene imine, a copolymer derived at least in part from vinyl amine, or a combination of two or more of such materials.