A pre-treatment coating composition includes evaporable liquid vehicle and a pre-treatment coating matrix, including from 30 wt % to 70 wt % multivalent organic salt, from 5 wt % to 30 wt % dispersed polyurethane binder having a weight average molecular weight from 30,000 Mw to 100,000 Mw, from 0.5 wt % to 8 wt % of a high molecular weight polyvinyl alcohol binder, and from 10 wt % to 30 wt % of a low molecular weight polyvinyl alcohol binder. The low molecular weight polyvinyl alcohol binder and the high molecular weight polyvinyl alcohol binder are present in the pre-treatment coating matrix at a 3:1 to 15:1 weight ratio, and weight percentages are based on dry weight of the pre-treatment coating matrix.