Polymeric web exhibiting a soft, silky, cloth-like tactile impression and including a contrasting visually discernible pattern having an embossed appearance on at least one surface thereof

A substantially fluid-impervious, microbubbled polymeric web exhibiting a contrasting visually discernible pattern, said web exhibiting very low levels of noise when subjected to movement as well as a soft and cloth-like tactile impression on at least one of its surfaces, said cloth-like surface of said web exhibiting a pattern of discrete surface aberrations, each of said surface aberrations having its amplitude oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface in which said surface aberration originates, each of said surface aberrations exhibiting a maximum cross-sectional dimension of about 25 mils or less, as measured in a plane oriented perpendicular to the amplitude of said surface aberration with the microbubble in its fully expanded condition, each of said surface aberrations having a base portion and an end portion, the end portion of each of said surface aberrations comprising at least one microbubble substantially coinciding with the point of maximum amplitude of the surface aberration to which it is continuously joined about its periphery, said microbubble comprising a highly flexible, substantially fluid-impervious, continuous membrane which is very much thinner than the base portion of said surface aberration, said microbubble further exhibiting a maximum internal cross-sectional area, as measured in its fully expanded condition in a first plane oriented perpendicular to the amplitude of said surface aberration, which is greater than the minimum internal cross-sectional area of said relatively thicker base portion to which it is continuously joined about its periphery, as measured in a second plane oriented parallel to said first plane, said microbubble creating a discontinuity which reduces the resistance to compression and shear of said surface aberration as well as the overall flexural rigidity of said web, whereby said reduced resistance to compression and shear of each of said surface aberrations provides that surface of said web containing said microbubbles with a tactile impression which is generally perceived as soft and cloth-like while the reduced overall flexural rigidity of aid web minimize the ability of said web to generate nose when said web is subjected to movement, said contrasting visually discernible pattern comprising a substantially planar, non-microbubbled, horizontally oriented portion of said web, said substantially planar, non-microbubbled, horizontally oriented portion of said web having a width "W" equal to at least about 11/2 times the normal center-to-center distance between adjacent surface aberrations, as measured in the microbubbled portions of said web in the immediate vicinity of said visually discernible pattern, and a length "L" extending continuously in a direction substantially perpendicular to its width, said substantially planar, non-microbubbled, horizontally oriented portion of said web of width "W" and length "L" being located in a plane which is positioned no lower than the plane in which at least a portion of said microbubbled surface aberrations in aid web originate, said width "W" and said length "L" together defining a contrasting pattern which is visually discernible to the normal naked eye when the perpendicular distance between the observer's eye and the plane of said web is about 12 inches.