Electrostatic recording on insulators by nonwetting conducting liquids

Highly efficient charge transfer to and from insulator surfaces (e.g., Mylar) has been obtained using moving nonwetting liquid probes (e.g., water). Within a range of measurements (applied fields ≥ 103 V/cm and current densities ≤ 10−4 A/cm2) good agreement exists with calculated charging rates for applied voltages ≥ 20 V of either polarity. Recording charge patterns exhibit resolutions < 10 μm and storages > 500 h.