The present invention is drawn to compositions and coated substrates wherein a back coating layer can be implemented for use to mitigate ink transfer, surface damage, smudging, and sticking between stacked sheets in output trays of ink-jet ink printers. Specifically, a coated media sheet can comprise a printing surface including an ink-receiving coating formulated to accept an ink-jet ink composition, and an opposing back surface comprising a back coating. The back coating can include an admixture of 0.5 wt % to 75 wt % of a polymeric binder, 5 wt % to 95 wt % of filler particulates having an average particle size from about 0.01 .mu.m to about 15 .mu.m, and 3 wt % to 90 wt % of spacer particulates having an average particle size from about 6 .mu.m to about 500 .mu.m. In one embodiment, the spacer particulates are larger than the filler particulates.
The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/057,015, which was filed on Jan. 25, 2002, now patented as U.S. Pat. No. 6,638,585 B2, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
