Pigmented ink jet inks present a challenge to the developers of the ink-receptive media. Unlike dye-based ink jet inks, pigmented inks, especially black, suffer from color transfer and rub off. Black ink fixation problems are especially prevalent in large format printing used in CAD or architectural design.This study focuses on the properties of the materials used in microporous coatings for ink jet media and how they impact the media's interaction with pigmented ink jet inks. Material properties such as pore volume and particle size are studied, also binder types, additives, and ratios such as pigment to binder ratio and the ratio between hydrophilic and hydrophobic binder materials. For print evaluation an HP Designjet 100+ was used and methods were developed to evaluate the quality of pigment ink fixation. SEM analysis and dynamic contact angle measurements were used to analyze ink-media interactions.The study showed that the formation of an ink pigment filter cake on the coating surface correlated to poor black fixation and in contrast, when no filter cake exists the fixation is good. Good fixation results are achieved when the dynamics of ink absorption into the media coating prevent the formation of a pigment filter cake on the surface.