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Erasable paper
Xerox believes it has found a way to dramatically reduce the consumption of paper: The firm has developed a technology that automatically erases the prints on paper after one day - and allows the paper to be reused "multiple times".
The paperless office, a thought that traditional paper would be more and more redundant in times of digital documents, has largely remained a vision: Most organizations still use considerable amounts of paper to print documents on traditional paper instead of filing them only electronically.
Xerox researchers are testing it at a lab near Toronto Canada. The Xerox Research Center of Canada is one of five global centers. The Center in Canada focuses on the future of the document, inks, toners and imaging. It?s also the place where self-erasing paper was developed.
A new technology, which Xerox calls "erasable paper", could dramatically change this scenario: The company said it has developed a technology that blurs the line between paper documents and digital displays and, in its present version, self-erases prints in about 16-24 hours. According to the company, the erasable paper may use "compounds that change color when they absorb a certain wavelength of light but then will gradually disappear."
Far from being a commercial reality, Xerox describes the technology as a "part of a laboratory project that focuses on the concept of future dynamic documents." However, when and if erasable paper will become a reality it will need a special printers as well as special papers in order to create a print using a light bar that provides a specific wavelength of light as a writing source. Xerox said that the print fades naturally over time or can be immediately erased by exposing it to heat.
Xerox spokesman Bill McKee told TG Daily that the erasable paper can be reused between 20 and 50 times at this stage and mentioned that this number "is likely to increase over time." Another goal of the development is to develop different versions of the paper: McKee mentioned that there could be variants that erase contents not only within a full day, but also within four or eight hours.
Xerox did not say when its erasable paper could be commercially available.
The paper looks ordinary enough, but what you can't see is what makes the technology cutting edge. Dr. Paul Smith said, "It doesn't use toner or ink....in 16 to 24 hours it turns from black to colorless again."
Erasable paper works when combined with a special printer. A certain wavelength of light reacts with the coating on the paper to create the image.Xerox researchers say erasable paper is best used for pages you don't need to keep around like emails, daily calendars, and fax cover pages.
Researchers found that two of every five pages are kept for less than a day, and then recycled. So, Xerox says, its product will reduce paper waste.
This is still a research project, which means it will be years before it will lighten the load of the recycle bin.
The paperless office, a thought that traditional paper would be more and more redundant in times of digital documents, has largely remained a vision: Most organizations still use considerable amounts of paper to print documents on traditional paper instead of filing them only electronically.
Xerox researchers are testing it at a lab near Toronto Canada. The Xerox Research Center of Canada is one of five global centers. The Center in Canada focuses on the future of the document, inks, toners and imaging. It?s also the place where self-erasing paper was developed.
A new technology, which Xerox calls "erasable paper", could dramatically change this scenario: The company said it has developed a technology that blurs the line between paper documents and digital displays and, in its present version, self-erases prints in about 16-24 hours. According to the company, the erasable paper may use "compounds that change color when they absorb a certain wavelength of light but then will gradually disappear."
Far from being a commercial reality, Xerox describes the technology as a "part of a laboratory project that focuses on the concept of future dynamic documents." However, when and if erasable paper will become a reality it will need a special printers as well as special papers in order to create a print using a light bar that provides a specific wavelength of light as a writing source. Xerox said that the print fades naturally over time or can be immediately erased by exposing it to heat.
Xerox spokesman Bill McKee told TG Daily that the erasable paper can be reused between 20 and 50 times at this stage and mentioned that this number "is likely to increase over time." Another goal of the development is to develop different versions of the paper: McKee mentioned that there could be variants that erase contents not only within a full day, but also within four or eight hours.
Xerox did not say when its erasable paper could be commercially available.
The paper looks ordinary enough, but what you can't see is what makes the technology cutting edge. Dr. Paul Smith said, "It doesn't use toner or ink....in 16 to 24 hours it turns from black to colorless again."
Erasable paper works when combined with a special printer. A certain wavelength of light reacts with the coating on the paper to create the image.Xerox researchers say erasable paper is best used for pages you don't need to keep around like emails, daily calendars, and fax cover pages.
Researchers found that two of every five pages are kept for less than a day, and then recycled. So, Xerox says, its product will reduce paper waste.
This is still a research project, which means it will be years before it will lighten the load of the recycle bin.
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