Pretreatment fluids with associative thicker for printing media

An aqueous pretreatment fluid for inkjet printing low-porous or non-porous media with an aqueous pigment ink composition, comprising:

• an aqueous vehicle,
• about 1% by weight to about 50% by weight of the pretreatment fluid at least one polymeric binder selected from the group consisting of acrylic polymers, acrylic copolymers, polyurethanes, salts thereof, and/or combinations thereof, and
• about 0.1% by weight to about 2% by weight of the pretreatment fluid an associative thickener.

A method of producing a printed image on a low-porous or non-porous medium, the method comprising:

• applying to the low-porous or non-porous medium a pretreatment fluid, the pretreatment fluid comprising a liquid vehicle, at least one polymeric binder selected from the group consisting of acrylic polymers, acrylic copolymers, polyurethanes, salts thereof, and/or combinations thereof, and an associative thickener, wherein the pretreatment fluid has a viscosity of about 10 cps to about 1000 cps and a surface tension of about 16 dynes/cm to about 30 dynes/cm, and
• applying a pigment ink composition to the pretreatment fluid applied to the low-porous or non-porous medium, the pretreatment fluid having a viscosity that allows mixing of the pigment ink composition with the pretreatment fluid.