PURPOSE: To provide a coating process for treating at pH 4-5 with a cross-linked anionic polymer insol. in water and to obtain papers or other similar articles for flexographic printing.

CONSTITUTION: Papers or other articles are treated with a high-mol.wt., cross- linked anionic polymer. The anionic polymer is the single polymer of acrylic acid which is partially or entirely made into salts with an alkaline metal or ammonia, or a copolymer of acrylamide and acrylic acid. The cross-linking is attained especially by a standard diethylene cross-linking agent having acrylamide group such as methylenebisacrylamide and bisacrylamide acetate, preferably by bisacrylamide acetate.