Water-based technology has undergone revolutionary changes during the past two decades. Interest in the properties and uses of water-based coatings, paints and inks has continued to grow since the establishment of the Clean Air Act of 1970. The present book is devoted to recent developments and trends in water-based coating and ink technology. This volume is divided in three broad catagories: (1) Additives and Water-based Coating/Ink Systems, (2) Surface Modifications and Wettability, and (3) Ink/Coating Formulations and Their characterization. The role of various additives to improve the performance and properties of water-based coatings with special reference to surface phenomena such as wettability, adhesion, surface energies, dispersion stability, particle size and size distribution are presented in these sections. This volume documents the proceedings of the International symposium on Surface Phenomena and Additives in Water-Based Coatings and Printing Technology sponsored by the 21st Annual Meeting of the Fine Particle Society (FPS). This meeting was held in San Diego, california, AUgust 21-25, 1990. The symposium upon which this volume is based was organized in four sessions emphasizing several basic and applied aspects of water-based coatings and printing technology. Major topics discussed include advances in water-based technology, water-based flexo and gravure inks, hydrophobically-modified cellulosic thickeners, organosilicones, uv curable silicone release coatings, surface characterization of Ti02 pigments, polymer substrates, flexographic plates and coating films, pigment wetting and dispersing agents, hydrotrope effect in emulsion polymers, film thickness control, particle size measurements, rheological properties, and statistically designed mixtures for ink formulations.