In order to improve the print quality, cationic polymers are usually used in paper coatings for inkjet printing to chemically fix the anionic dye of the inkjet ink at the coated surface. While considerable research has been done to understand the effect of commonly poly-cationic additives like Poly-diallyldimethylammoniumchloride (PD) in paper coating for ink-jet printing, there has been limited effort to look for new cationic system that can outperform as well as overcome the drawbacks of the conventional cationic polymers like very low waterfastness and brittle coating structure. In this study, a functional polymer, Styrene Maelic Anhydride Imide (SMAI) is investigated as a new cationic additive in precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) based coating with respect to its impact on the coating quality and rheology. SMAI as cationic additive, in addition to improving the print quality, has found to introduce a favorable coating structure for inkjet printing compared to PD.