A polymer based composite contains (a) a polyamide component, (b) a (co)-polyamide based on ether units and amide units, and (c) carbon black. It has been found that (1) the (co)-polyamide (b) offers sufficient absorbency for the printing ink, and (2) the selection of the polyamide component, the (co)-polyamide, and the amount of the carbon black result in both sufficient transparency and sufficient absorption centers for the laser energy. A moulded article can be made of the polymer based composite. A layered structure can be made containing at least one layer made of the polymer based composite and a security and/or valuable document containing the layered structure.

A method of coating a paper surface proceeds by applying a composition which is low in volatile organic compounds (VOC) or essentially free of VOC, wherein the composition is art least partially based on one or more partially or fully hydrolyzed and optionally condensed or co-condensed aminoalkyl- and oligosilyated-aminoalkyl-, alkoxy- or hydroxy-functional silicon compounds and the alcohol is at least partially removed from the composition

An appliqué of the invention comprises a disposable carrier film onto which a release layer and PU inks are printed using layering techniques. The ink layers can be multicoloured and each colour is applied sequentially using a conventional screen-printing method. A back-up, a lacquer layer, and an adhesive layer are printed in sequence over the ink layers. The ink includes reflective particles providing the optical effect of a 3-dimensional appliqué. The artwork is created by overlapping design layers to controlled specification sequences. The ink, because of the additives, creates a desired colour tone, and this may be enhanced by layering of the ink in an overlapping region. Thus, there are three main regions, namely a central region with reflective ink, a “shoulder” region with overlapping matt and reflective inks and an outer region with only matt ink.

According to an example, a recording medium may include a substrate; a first coating including an inorganic pigment, a first binder, and a fixative agent; and a second coating including inorganic nanoparticles and a second binder; in which the inorganic pigment may be a plate-shaped pigment.

The present disclosure is drawn to methods of embossing print media, printing systems, and printers. In one example, a method of embossing a print medium can include printing an enhancing fluid on a coated print medium to form a printed area. The enhancing fluid can include a colorless radiation absorbing agent capable of converting radiation having a wavelength from 200 nm to 400 nm to heat. A colored ink can also be printed on the print medium to form a visible image. The print medium can include a print substrate and an expanding coating layer on the print substrate. The expanding coating layer can include a thermal expansion agent having a minimum expansion temperature. The coated print medium can be irradiated with radiation having a wavelength from 200 nm to 400 nm to selectively heat the printed area and expand the thermal expansion agent in the printed area.

A transferable receiver material is provided that includes a polymer film assembly comprising inorganic particles having a first dimension smaller than 100 nanometers and an orthogonal, second dimension larger than 100 nanometers. The polymer film assembly can be coupled with a carrier film and the polymer film assembly can be configured to separate from the carrier film and couple with a target object surface along a defined edge upon application of heat. Optionally, the polymer film assembly includes a holographic image configured to be transferred to a target object surface upon application of heat. The polymer film assembly can be configured to receive one or more dyes, pigments, inks, special effect materials, or special effect metals for thermally transfer onto a target object. After transfer onto a target object, images transferred by the material are visible through the polymer film assembly.

The present disclosure is drawn to printable media. A printable medium includes a substrate having a first side and a second side. An ink-receiving layer is positioned on the first side of the substrate. The ink-receiving layer includes a colloidal sol. An ink-penetrable layer is positioned on the ink-receiving layer. The ink-penetrable layer includes a binder and polymer particles having a glass transition temperature from 80° C. to 150° C. A repositionable adhesive layer is positioned on the second side of the substrate. A release liner is removably positioned on the repositionable adhesive layer. A friction control layer is positioned on the release liner, where the friction control layer includes a slip aid.

A thermal transfer image-receiving sheet has a primer layer and a receiving layer. The primer layer contains binder resin and metal pigment. When a value obtained by dividing the mass of the metal pigment by the mass of the binder resin is A and the thickness of the primer layer is B, A is 0.5 to 3.5, and A/B is 0.15 to 6. When light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, ΔL* between L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting specular reflection light, generated when light is made incident on the surface on the receiving layer side at an incident angle of 45°, toward the incident light side by 15° and L* at a light-receiving angle obtained by tilting the specular reflection light toward the incident light side by 110° is 110 or more.

The present disclosure is drawn to coated print media, methods of making coated print media, and methods of printing. In one example, a coated print medium can include a substrate, a base coating layer on the substrate, and a top coating layer on the base coating layer. The base coating layer can include an inorganic pigment, a binder, and a fixing agent. The top coating layer can include polyvinyl alcohol and polymer nanobeads having a gloss transition temperature from 70° C. to 350° C. The polyvinyl alcohol and polymer nanobeads can be included at from 50 wt % to 100 wt % by dry weight of the top coating layer.

An image recording method is provided. The image recording method includes the steps of: applying a treatment liquid containing a pore forming material onto a recording medium to form a porous layer; and applying a metallic ink containing a metallic pigment onto the porous layer. A surface tension of the metallic ink at 23° C. is equal to or greater than a surface tension of the treatment liquid at 23° C. The surface tension of the metallic ink at 23° C. is 19 mN/m or more and 28 mN/m or less.