Advances in ink jet printing technology have enabled the output of digital images that rival the quality of images produced on photographic film. As a result, there is demand for ink jet media with intermediate and high gloss finishes, so that the ink jet printed image resembles a photographic image. Coated ink jet media are necessary to produce the desired glossy image characteristics. Existing coating technologies can be divided into those that are resin rich, and those that are pigment rich. The latter coatings are microporous as a result of the packing of small, inorganic particles. A key ingredient used widely in both types of systems is amorphous silica, which imparts many desirable characteristics to the coating and final image. We report here novel submicron-sized materials, based on amorphous silica gels that can be used to prepare high capacity ink-receptive coatings that also exhibit gloss finishes. As a result of their internal porosity, the materials can be used to produce coatings with substantial void space for liquid absorption. As a result of their small particle size, the materials can be used to produce films of relatively high gloss, even in a pigment rich coating film. These new materials should play an integral role in the development of coated, glossy media for high productivity ink jet printers.