GB2089241A - Recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A dielectric coated recording medium comprises a substrate formed from a plurality of layers e.g. of Cellophane (Trade Mark) bonded together, thus forming a transparent laminate. This laminate is made through- conductive by the application and absorption of a special conductive solution. The top surface of the substrate is coated with a dielectric material. The bottom surface of the substrate may be coated with a conductive coating. The dielectric coating and conductive coating may contain pigment to achieve the desired opacity.

Description

SPECIFICATION Recording medium This invention relates to a printing medium in the form of a dielectric coated recording medium, which is useful for dielectric copying, printing, plotting and other recording purposes.

Methods for dielectric copying, printing and so on are well known in the art. Prior art methods for dielectric copying, printing and other forms of dielectric recording require a printing medium substrate which is through-conductive and which has a dielectric coating on one surface. Referring to the accompanying drawing, a prior art dielectric recording medium is shown in Figure 1. This known recording medium 99 comprises a throughconductive material 100 having a top surface 101 and a bottom surface 102. For the purposes of this specification, a material is through-conductive, such as the material 100, when an electric current can be made to flow between the top surface 101 and the bottom surface 102 in response to an electrical potential applied between these surfaces 101 and 102, so that the material is appropriate for use in dielectric copying machines of the known type.One such dielectric copying machine, for example, is the Benson-Varian Model 9336 manufactured and sold by Benson-Varian Incorporated, 385 Ravendale Drive, Mountain View, California 94043, United States of America. A dielectric insulating material 105 is applied as a coating on the top surface 101 of the material 100, which is either paper or vellum in the recording medium 99. Although paper and vellum are not normally through-conductive, either will absorb an applied conductive chemical solution and thus become conductive. Paper and vellum are the only prior art materials which can readily be made through-conductive, because other materials useful for drafting or printing purposes, such as "Mylar" (Regd.Trademark- Dupont), polyester film and acetate film, have volume resistivities in excess of 1014 ohms-in and surface resistivities in excess of 1014 ohms/square in, and are impervious to known conductive chemical solutions.

Images may be printed on the recording medium shown on Figure 1 by well-known techniques. An electric potential is applied to the throughconductive material 100, while the top surface 106 of the dielectric coating 105 moves past a recording head (not shown) containing numerous styli. The styli are controlled so as to apply an electric charge to the top surface 106 at desired locations. The recording medium 100 then acts as a capacitor, having points of charge stored on the surface 106. A liquid toner solution containing particulate carbon is then applied to the surface 106, so that the particulate carbon adheres to the locations on the surface 106 of these stored points of charge. The surface 106 is then dried and developed, which firmly affixes the carbon particles to the surface 106, where the points of charge were previously stored. In this fashion, a permanent print is obtained.

Another disadvantage of the fact that prior art methods of dielectric recording can only use paper or vellum, because other common drafting or printing materials cannot be made through-conductive, is that paper and vellum are much more easily damaged than other media, such as "Mylar" or acetate film, and are substantially non-transparent. This invention seeks to provide a dielectric coated recording medium which avoids these disadvantages.

In accordance with this invention, a dielectric coated recording medium, comprises a throughconductive substrate, comprising first and second sheets of through-conductive material and a layer of adhesive material bonding the bottom surface of the first sheet to the top surface of the second sheet, and a layer of dielectric insulating material provided on the top surface of the substrate.

The invention thus provides a durable transparent medium for dielectric copying, printing, plotting and recording, which is useful for instance as an original from which blueprints can be made, for overlays and for overhead projections.

Preferably, the substrate comprises N sheets of through-conductive material and N-1 layers of conductive adhesive material, each of the layers being located between adjacent ones of the sheets of through-conductive material, N being 3 or more.

In one preferred embodiment, the substrate comprises two Cellophane (Trade Mark) layers bonded together with an adhesive and subjected to a conductive treatment to decrease the surface and volume resistivities, the top of the substrate being coated with a dielectric layer.

In accordance with a preferred feature of the invention, the solution used to treat the substrate to make it conductive comprises a mixture of water, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and Calgon 261 LV. In another embodiment, the solution used to make the substrate conductive comprises a mixture of water, isopropyl alcohol and Calgon 261 LV.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood a detailed description given in conjunction with the accompanying drawing follows; in the drawing: Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a prior art dielectric coated recording medium, as already described above; Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a dielectric coated recording medium with a transparent conductive base, constructed in accordance with this invention; Figure 3 illustrates schematically the process used to make the substrate of this invention throughconductive.

Referring to Figure 2, a recording medium 25 comprises a substrate 20, carrying a top dielectric coating layer 11 and a bottom conductive resin coating 15. The substrate 20 is a transparent laminate formed of Cellophane (Trade Mark) layers 12 and 14, bonded together by an adhesive layer 13 as shown. The adhesive of the layer 13 may be a polyvinyl acetate multipolymer resin, for example, Monsanto Gelva Multipolymer Resin Solution 270, described in Monsanto Data Sheet 6035A. Alternatively, the adhesive of the layer 13 may be an acrylic resin solution, for instance, Monsanto Gelva Multipolymer Solution 263, a polyvinyl acetate-maleate copolymer, for instance, Monsanto Gelva 264, or any suitable adhesive which will not prevent the subs tratefrom becoming sufficiently through- conductive.Gelva multipolymersolutions are described in Monsanto Technical Bulletin 6081. Each of the Cellophane layers 12 and 14typically has a thickness of approximately 0.025 mm (.001 inch).

Such a substrate can be made through-conductive by utilizing standard well-known techniques to apply a specially-formulated conductive chemical solution (described below), which is then absorbed by the substrate 20. A substrate comprising any number of Cellophane layers, including a single cellophane layer, may be used, if desired.

A suitable transparent laminate comprising two layers of Cellophane bonded together is manufactured and sold by Olin Corporation under Stock Numbers 64CC-76 and 128PUT. This material is sold for use in wrapping and packaging. Bonded layers forming thick sheets of Cellophane are preferred, because of the difficulty in forming single-ply thick sheets of Cellophane. Thick sheets of Cellophane are desirably used, for their durability and toughness. In the past, Cellophane has not been used for dielectric printing, because; (1) most commercially-available Cellophane is one-ply and thus lacks the thickness, durability and rigidity required for printing media; (2) conductive solutions used to make prior art dielectric printing media are not readily absorbed by cellophane; and (3) the electrical characteristics of cellophane are not widely known.

This invention overcomes these difficulties by using multiple-ply cellophane laminates, such as those manufactured by Olin Corporation, to achieve the thickness, durability and rigidity required for long life printing media. The laminates are treated with our conductive chemical solution, formulated specifically so as to be readily absorbed by Cellophane, thus permitting the transparent dielectric recording medium of this invention to be throughconductive.

Priorto being made through-conductive, the preferred Cellophane laminate has a surface resistivity within the range from 2 x 109to3 x 1011 ohms/ square in and a volume resistivity within the range from 1 x 108to 1 x 1010 ohms-in, depending on the amount of moisture in the laminate due to the relative humidity. Methods of testing conductivity in the paper industry are described in "Resistivity Testing Methods for Conductive Base Paper", by T.

E. Cooprider, Technical Association of the Paper and Pulp Industry (TAPPI) 51(11) 520-7 (1968).

Cellophane laminates are not inherently throughconductive. To make them through-conductive, the laminates are subjected to a process which involves submerging the laminates in a selected solution for a selected time, then pressing the laminates to remove excess solution and to ensure complete penetration of the solution through the laminates and finally drying the laminates before winding them on a roll.

One preferred conductive treatment solution comprises, by volume, 2% to 20% of a water-soluble electro-conductive quaternary ammonium polymer, e.g. Calgon 261 LV, which is the conductive material in the solution which increases the conductivity of the substrate, 3% to 30% of water and 95% to 50% of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether. The optimum ratio, by volume, is approximately 10% of Calgon 261 LV, 15% of water and 75% of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether. As the proportion of Calgon 261 LV in the conductive coating solution is increased, the volume conductivity of the treated substrate increases, until the viscosity of the solution is so great that the ability of the solution to penetrate the substrate is reduced, thus resulting in a decrease in the volume conductivity of the treated substrate.

The optimum ratio given results in a substrate with maximum volume conductivity after treatment.

A second preferred conductive treatment solution comprises, by volume, 2% to 20% of Calgon 261 LV, 96% to 60% of water and 2% to 20% of isopropyl alcohol. This second conductive treatment solution has an approximate optimum composition comprising, by volume, 10% of Calgon 261 LV, 80% of water and 10% of isopropyl alcohol. Also, methanol may be used as a solvent to form a solution containing Calgon 261 LV for use as a conductive treatment solution. Whatever its nature, the solvent used must be capable of providing a conductive treatment solution which will penetrate the substrate, thus increasing its volume conductivity.

The water-soluble electro-conductive quaternary ammonium polymer known as Calgon 261 LV is sold by the Calgon Corporation and is described in US-PS 3288770 and also in Calgon Corporation Speciality Products Bulletin Number 28-4.

The presence of a large proportion of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether in the conductive treatment solution provides better penetration of the substrate and thus better volume conductivity than solutions using water as the solvent. Furthermore, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether dries more readily than water and provides a non-slippery or "grease-free" substrate surface after drying. Prior art methods of increasing the through-conductivity of paper substrates have not used ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, due to its relatively high cost and the fact that water is an adequate solvent for use with paper substrates.

Conductive treatment solutions may also be formulated comprising other electro-conductive quarternary ammonium compounds, such as the vinyi benzyl quaternary ammonium compounds disclosed in US-PS 3011918. Other materials may be used to fabricate a through-conductive treatment solution, such as common salts, including sodium chloride.

However, the conductive treatment solution must be readily absorbed by Cellophane and should not cause corrosion of printing equipment, as does salt The conductive treatment solutions described herein may also be used to increase the throughconductivity of prior art paper substrates.

The conductive treatment solution is, in one preferred embodiment, applied to the Cellophane substrate in the following manner, as depicted in Figure 3. A Cellophane substrate 218 is taken from a feed roll 217 and is passed through a conductive treatment mechanism 230 at a speed of 30 m/min (approximately 100 ft. per minute). A conductive treatment solution 219, preferably at room temperature and having a viscosity of approximately 19 seconds, as measured with a Zahn No 2 cup, is contained within a tank 220, a length of the Cellophane substrate of approximately 35 cm (14 inches) being submerged in the conductive treatment solution 219 at any one time. Other well-known methods of measuring the viscosity of the conductive treatment solution 219 may be used. Nip rolls 221a and 221b are located approximately 1.8 m (6 feet) from the tank 220.The nip roller 221a comprises rubber and the nip roller 221b steel, although the use of these materials is not critical and the nip rollers 221a and 221b may comprise other materials.

These nip rollers 221a and 221b remove excess conductive treatment solution 219 from the Cellophane substrate 218, to facilitate drying, and also squeeze the conductive treatment solution 219 into the cellophane substrate to provide better and more uniform through-conductivity. The pressure exerted on the Cellophane substrate 218 by the nip rollers 221a and 221b is approximately 3.15 to 4.20 Kgf/cm2 (45-60 psi), although this is not critical. The Cellophane substrate 218 then enters a heated air dryer oven 222, located approximately 1.3 m (4 feet) from the nip rollers 221a and 221b. The temperature of the oven 222 is 50"C (125"F), although any temperature and oven length suitable for drying the substrate may be used.Approximately 6 m (20 feet) of the Cellophane substrate 218 is contained in the oven 222 at any given time. The dry Cellophane substrate 218 leaves the oven 222 and is wound on a wind-up roll 223. This treatment reduces the surface resistiv ity of the Cellophane substrate 218 from approximately 1011 to 109 ohms/square in to approximately 109 to 107 ohms/square in. This treatment also reduces the volume resistivity from approximately 1010 to 1 o8 ohms-inch to approximately 109 to 107 ohms-inch. Any other suitable method of applying conductive treatment solution may be used, such as those referred to in "Fundamentals to Consider in Selecting Coating Methods" by R.J. Jacobs, "Paper Film and Foil Converter", Feb.-July 1963, published by Maclean-Hunter Publishing Corporation, Chicago, ILL.Thin (approximately 0.025 mm (0.1 mil) thick) intermediate conductive coating layers 41 and 42, mainly comprising Calgon 261 LV, are formed on the surface of the substrate 20 (as shown in Figure 2) by this application of the conductive treatment solution.

The conductive coating 15 is applied to the Cellophane layer 14 of the substrate 20 of Figure 2 by well-known techniques to a thickness within the range of approximately 0.012 to 0.08 mm (0.5 to 3.5 mils), which is equivalent to approximately 0.8 to 6.4 Kg of conductive coating material per 1000 m2 (approximately - to 4 pounds of conductive coating material per 3,000 square feet) of substrate surface area. One preferred method of applying the conductive coating 15 is to utilize a Mayer rod coater such as manufactured by the Black Clawson Company or the Midland Ross Company of New Jersey, with a No 20 Mayer rod with a web speed of approximately 920 m/hr (1000 yards/hour). Conductive coating solution having a viscosity of approximately 25 seconds, as measured using a Zahn No 2 cup, applied at room temperature.The first 6 m (20ft) hot air dryer oven of the Mayer rod coater is set at 50"C (125"F) and the second dryer oven is set at 600C (150 F). The use of a Mayer rod coater is described in "Fundamentals to Consider in Selecting Coating Methods", R. J.

Jacobs, cited previously.

The conductive coating mixture comprises approximately 17.7% of binder in the form of Hercules nitrocellulose RS 1/2 sec. sold by Hercules, Incorporated, of Wilmington, Delaware, and disclosed both in Hercules Product Data Sheet No. 106-2 and in "Nitrocellulose Chemical and Physical Properties", by Hercules, Inc., 1969. The conductive coating mixture also comprises approximately 7.6% of isopropyl alcohol, 23.8% of toluene and 50.9% of propylene glycol methyl ether, by weight. Conductive pigment, such as zinc oxide in the form of New Jersey Zinc HC238 sold by Natural Resources Group, Gulf and Western Industries, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, may be added to the conductive coating mixture to provide the desired opacity of the finished recording medium. Opacity is increased with increasing density of pigment.Conductive pigment is also used to provide a surface with roughness sufficient to permit hand-written annotations on the surface of the conductive coating 15. Conductive zinc oxide pigment may be added up to a maximum of approximately 10 parts of pigment per part of binder, by weight. The optimum amount of pigment to achieve good conductivity and translucence is approximately 1/2 part of pigment to 1 part of binder, by weight. Other conductive pigments such as carbon black, metal particles, cupric iodide and salts, may be used. Hercules Nitrocellulose RS 1/2 sec may also be used with other alcohol-based solvents.

Other nitrocellulose (cellulose nitrate) compounds may be used, having a viscosity other than 1/2 sec.

Contrary to what might be expected, the use of a nitrocellulose conductive coating on a cellophane substrate results in a safe printing medium which burns approximately 4 to 5 times slower than polyester or "Mylar" and approximately 2 times slowerthan paperorvellum.

In some instances, the conductive coating 15 need not be applied. The surface conductivity may be sufficiently low after application of the conductive solution (due to the presence of the thin intermediate conductive layer 42) to form an effective dielectric recording medium. However, in this case, pigment cannot be applied to the bottom surface of the substrate 20 by adding it to the conductive coating 15. However, use of the conductive coating 15 is preferred to increase the durability and thickness of the dielectric recording medium and to permit hand-written annotations with common writing implements, i.e., ball-point pens or pencils. The conductive coating 15 also serves as a humidity barrier, tending to prevent large changes in the moisture content of the recording medium through large changes in the ambient relative humidity.

The conductive coating solution and method of application described herein may also be used in the fabrication of dielectric coated recording media which utilize paper substrates.

The dielectric coating 11 is then applied to the layer 41, which coats the Cellophane layer 12 of the substrate 20, by well-known techniques to a thickness of approximately 0.0025 to 0.025 mm (0.0001 to 0.001 inches), which is equivalent to approximately 1.6 to 12.8 Kg of dielectric coating material per 1000 m2 (1 to 8 pounds of dielectric coating material per 3,000 square feet) of substrate surface area. The optimum thickness of the dielectric coating 11 is approximately 9.6 Kg/1000 m2 (6 pounds per three thousand square feet) of substrate surface area. The dielectric coating 11 is formed by the application of a liquid dielectric coating solution which comprises approximately 14% by weight of Monsanto Butvar B79, (a polyvinyl butyral which serves as a binder, sold by Monsanto Polymers and Petro-chemicals Co., St.Louis, MO, and described in their Technical Bulletin No. 6070A), approximately 47.4% by weight of toluene and approximately 31.6% by weight of propylene glycol methyl ether. Non-conductive pigment, such as aluminium silicate in the form of Freeport Kaolin Translink 37, sold by Freeport Kaolin Company, New York, and disclosed in Kaolin Technical Data Bulletin "Translink 37", may be added within the range of approximately 1 part of pigment per 4 parts of binder to 4 parts of pigment per 1 part of binder, by weight. The optimum amount of Translink 37 pigment is approximately 1 part of pigment per 2 parts of binder, by weight.Any suitable non-conductive pigment, or combinations thereof, may be used, such as Ansilex 93 sold by Englehard Chemical, New Jersey, or titanium diosxide, barium sulphate, calcium carbonate, clay, pigment OX-2 or lithopone, all of which are described in Monsanto Data Sheet No. 6326A.

The addition of one or more non-conductive pigments to the dielectric coating 11 serves several purposes. First, such pigments provide a tint and thus the opacity which is desired for some uses.

Secondly, such pigments roughen the top surface of the recording medium, thus providing the correct average thickness required of the printing medium by the printing station and permitting hand-written annotations to be made using common writing implements, such as pens and pencils. Thirdly, such pigments increase the dielectric constant of the dielectric coating 11, thus increasing the capacitance of the recording medium, and thus the ability of the recording medium to store an electrical charge during the printing process. Finally, the use of pigments in the dielectric layer 11 provides increased "tooth" or the ability of the surface to maintain the integrity of the developed image after toning, thus preventing smearing of the printed matter.

Monsanto Butvar B-79 is a polyvinyl butyral. Other polyvinyl butyrals may be used, including Monsanto Butvar B-76, which is described in Monsanto Data Sheet No. 6326A.

Lithopone is a white pigment comprising zinc sulphide, barium sulphate and some zinc oxide.

Lithopone is described in the "Merck Index and Encyclopedia of Chemicals and Drugs", 9th Edition, published by Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, New Jersey, 1976, page 723, item 5389. Pigment OX-2 is an aluminium silicate compound manufactured by Freeport Kaolin Company, New York, NewYork.

The dielectric coating 11 may be applied to the cellophane substrate utilizing a Mayer rod coater, with a number 36 Mayer rod. With the room temperature dielectric coating material to be applied adjusted to a viscosity of approximately 60 seconds using a Zahn No 2 cup, by adjusting the proportion of each chemical component, the substrate may be coated at approximately 730 m/hr (800 yards per hour) and dried with the first 6 m (20 foot) Mayer hot air dryer oven set at 500C (125 F) and the second dryer oven set at approximately 70"C (175"F). Other suitable methods of applying the dielectric coating 11 may be used and are not described here because they are well-known.

The conductive resin layer 15 provides electrical conductivity during the printing process in which the medium is used. The dielectric coating layer 11 and the conductive layer 15 are designed to be either clear (non-pigmented) when applied to the substrate 20, for a transparent configuration, or pigmented when applied to the substrate 20, to provide a frosted or opaque configuration. The dielectric coating 11 serves to provide a means to store electrical charges on the surface 27 of the recording medium 25. The conductive resin layer 15 and the dielectric coating layer 11 also provide increased strength and durability and form a humidity barrier, resulting in a substrate with a relatively constant moisture content over a wide range of ambient relative humidities.

This relatively constant moisture content results in a substrate which has improved dimensional stability and curl balance, as compared to prior art substrates.

The recording material of this invention is much more durable than paper, thus providing a greater life for prints using this material. The recording medium of this invention may also be made more transparent than paper, having for instance a transparency of approximately 75% in the visible light range, thus allowing more effective use of overlays than prior art dielectric media of paper or vellum.

Paper or vellum has a transparency of approximately 10% to 50%; however, as the transparency of paper increases, the durability decreases markedly. This invention provides higher quality reproduction when using blueprint copy machines than prior art recording media. This invention also provides recording media having better dimensional stability than paper. Paper and vellum have dimensional stabilities of the order of 3% for a change from 20% relative humidity to 80% relative humidity. The recording material of this invention has a dimensional stability of the order of 0.5% over this range of relative humidity. Thus, approximately six-fold improvement in dimensional stability over prior art dielectric recording media is achieved with the dielectric recording medium of this invention. The recording medium of this invention is also less expensive than polyester materials and, in contrast to polyester or acetate material, has enough through-conductivity to permit electrostatic printing. The recording medium of this invention may be used in standard dielectric printing processes and allows hand written annotations to be made on both its surfaces with common writing instruments. The recording medium of this invention is less combustible than polyester, "Mylar", paper and vellum. The Cellophane substrate used in this invention is not made from petro-chemicals, as is polyester or "Mylar", thus contributing to its low cost.

Claims (27)

1. A dielectric coated recording medium, com prising a through-conductive substrate, comprising first and second sheets of through-conductive mate rial and a layer of adhesive material bonding the bottom surface of the first sheet to the top surface of the second sheet, and a layer of dielectric insulating material provided on the top surface of the substrate.

2. A recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises N sheets of through-conductive material and N-1 layers of conductive adhesive material, each of the layers being located between adjacent ones of the sheets of through-conductive material, N being 3 or more.

3. A recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a layer of conductive coating material is provided on the bottom surface of the substrate.

4. A recording medium according to claim 1,2 or 3, wherein at least one of the sheets is cellophane.

5. A recording medium according to claim 4, wherein each of the sheets comprises Cellophane.

6. A recording medium according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the or each sheet comprises cellophane and a quaternary ammonium compound.

7. A recording medium according to any preced ing claim, wherein the adhesive material comprises a polyvinyl acetate multi-polymer, an acrylic resin or a polyvinyl acetate-maleate copolymer.

8. A recording medium according to any preced ing claim, wherein a layer of conductive coating material is provided on the bottom surface of the substrate.

9. A recording medium according to claim 8, wherein the conductive coating material comprises nitro-cellulose.

10. A recording medium according to claim 9, wherein the conductive coating material comprises one or more conductive pigments.

11. A recording medium according to claim 10, wherein the conductive pigment comprises zinc oxide, metallic particles, carbon black, graphite and/or cupric iodide.

12. A recording medium according to any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the layer of conductive coating material is formed by the application of a solution comprising nitrocellulose.

13. A recording medium according to claim 12, wherein the solution comprises, by weight, 17.7% of Hercules nitrocellulose RS 1/2 sec., 7.6% of isopropyl alcohol, 23.8% of toluene and 50.9% of ethylene glycol monopropyl ether.

14. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein the solution also contains up to 2 parts of New Jersey Zinc HC238 per part of Hercules Nitrocel lulose RS 1/2 sec.

15. A recording medium according to any preceding claim, wherein the dielectric insulating material comprises polyvinyl butyral.

16. A recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the dielectric insulating material comprises one or more non-conductive pigments.

17. A recording medium according to claim 16, wherein the non-conductive pigment comprises aluminium silicate, pigment OX-2, lithopone, titanium dioxide, barium sulphate, calcium carbonate and/or clay.

18. A recording medium according to any of claims 15 to 17, wherein the layer of dielectric insulating material is formed by the application of a solution comprising, by weight, 15.1% of Monsanto Butvar B79,51% of toluene and 33.9% of ethylene glycol monopropyl ether.

19. A recording medium according to claim 18, wherein the solution also contains 1 part of Freeport Kaolin Translink #37 pigment per 2 parts of Monsanto Butvar B79.

20. A recording medium according to any preceding claim, wherein the through-conductivity of the substrate is increased by the application of a solution comprising a quaternary ammonium compound.

21. A recording medium according to any of claims 1 to 19, wherein the substrate is made through-conductive by the application of a solution comprising by volume, 2% to 20% of Calgon 261 LV, 3% to 30% water and 95% to 50% of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether.

22. A recording medium according to claim 21, wherein the solution comprises, by volume, 10% of Calgon 261 LV, 15% of water and 75% of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether.

23. A recording medium according to any of claims 1 to 19, wherein the substrate is made through-conductive by the application of a solution comprising, by volume, 2% to 20% of Calgon 261 LV, 96% to 60% of water 2% to 20% of isopropyl alcohol.

24. A recording medium according to claim 23, wherein the solution comprises, by volume, 10% of Calgon 261 LV, 80% of water and 10% of isopropyl alcohol.

25. A recording medium according to any of claims 21 to 24, wherein the solution also contains one or more conductive pigments.

26. A recording medium according to claim 25, wherein the conductive pigment comprises zinc oxide, metallic particles, carbon black, graphite and/or cupric iodide.

27. A dielectric coated recording medium according to claim 1, substantially as described with reference to Figures 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawing.