Characterization of Ink-Jet Media Using Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy

Commercial ink-jet media is increasingly used in daily life; this use ranges from offices to digital photography. Understanding interactions between the layer of coated media and the ink is very important in obtaining high quality images. This paper presents an initial atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of a number of commercial coated ink-jet media. Three-dimensional AFM images were obtained at a resolution down to nanometer level. Surface analysis software was used to obtain surface characteristics and measure observed features of thesesurfaces. SEM images were obtained for the receptive layer. A comparison is made between the data obtainedfrom AFM and SEM of the surfaces.