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Xerox Demos Self-Erasing, Eco-Friendly Paper

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the sitting-on-photocopiers-to-make-a-comeback dept.

Lucas123 writes "The same Xerox lab that brought us Ethernet, the GUI and the mouse has demonstrated paper that can be reused after printed text automatically deletes itself from its surface in a day. Instead of trashing or recycling after one use, a single piece of paper can be reused up to 100 times. 'The paper contains specially coded molecules that create a print after being exposed to ultraviolet light emitted from a thin bar in a printer. The ultraviolet bar itself is very small, so it can be used in mobile printers. The technology could also be useful for network printing.'"

21 of 204 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm... by djcapelis · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now... where *did* I put that document...

    --
    I touch computers in naughty places
    1. Re:Hmmm... by UberDork · · Score: 2, Funny

      ... and here is *your* copy of our employment contract...

    2. Re:Hmmm... by The+Great+Pretender · · Score: 2, Funny

      Looks like it's time for another White House 'upgrade'

      --
      A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
    3. Re:Hmmm... by PopeRatzo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Self-wiping-self-flushing-self hand-washing-self-putting-on-clothes children.
      Self-paying-for-college.

      Please.
      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  2. Hacking the paper? by niko9 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Wonder if you can recover sensitive data much like you can with over written hard disk sectors...

    1. Re:Hacking the paper? by calebt3 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Maybe. But considering that it's easier to recover data from normal paper...
      Anyways, can't you still shred this?

  3. But will the paper start to jam after a few uses? by Joe+The+Dragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But will the paper start to jam after a few uses?
    100 times is a lot of it to get jammed in the printer after a few uses.

  4. etch-a-sketch by WarJolt · · Score: 3, Funny

    What if I want to keep it for longer? Just make it so it disappears when I shake it real hard.

  5. obvious future use: white house emails by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 2, Insightful

    printed text automatically deletes itself from its surface in a day.

    bush white house officials were heard saying 'yippee!' and we seen frolicking to and fro.

    paper that erases itself: no need for any explanations about servers not being backed up, outlook doing this or that or any of those other handy excuses. "we didn't realize we used self-erasing paper. honest, we didn't."

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  6. Dilbert by MikeDirnt69 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder how it would show up on Dilbert cartoons: "Here. Read these 50 pages and make a report. You have 24h"

    --
    Am I eval()? - http://www.monst3r.com.br
  7. Print this story by Skapare · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Next thing we'll have is DRM enabled printing that refuses to print this story unless it gets printed with self-erasing ink. But you can print it on permanent ink if you are a registered user. Registration is free. Enter your SSN here.

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  8. Is next big thing by xSacha · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is going to get picked up and achieve wide use if it's cheap enough.
    The mouse, GUI and ethernet: these guys know what people want.

    Perfect timing for all these companies who say they want to become environmentally friendly. Same companies that go through reams of paper every day.If there's cost savings involved as well this is a no-brainer.

    1. Re:Is next big thing by rolfwind · · Score: 2, Informative

      I don't think it'll be big. E-paper/ink readers are here and they just need to get faster, cheaper, bigger displays, thinner, and evenntually color (you know, all the upgrade cycles all previous electronics went through). I'd say because of flash/wireless, capacity is already there/superior to any paper solution.

      The big hurdles to this paper is simple the work it will take to gather the old paper up, stack them neatly, and make them fit for printing. How much premium will this paper command? What % will be wasted due to folds/creases/smears/etc every time? Staples will be extra work.

      The bottom line: will it save from the bottom line? Considering the above work required: no. But will it be used? I think it will have its own niche... but epaper/eink/whatever_you_call_it is the next big thing, not this.

  9. Paper IS already "eco friendly" by Mc_Anthony · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Most (if not all) new paper comes from farmed trees - a renewable resource. We don't cut down virgin forests for paper. It's actually the recycling of paper that is a disaster for the environment. To this day, the paper recycling industry is the largest polluter of water in the US, due to all of the harsh chemicals needed in the process. Not to mention it's very expensive and requires government subsidies.

  10. Ultra violet? by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 4, Interesting
    That stuff that comes from the sun? Don't want to take your valuable printings outside then.

    Back in the 1980s we used UV erasable EPROMS. With the correct UV lamps you could erase them in seconds or minutes. If you had natural light coming onto your desk then they'd get erased, but it would take a few days. Many an engineer was stumped as to why his circuit that worked fine yesterday was behaving badly today.

    Now the same problem will extend to accountants!

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:Ultra violet? by fractoid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Reminds me of an interesting story from my boss at an old job - he'd had a prototype that he had to demonstrate to a potential customer, and it worked perfectly on the workbench but the moment the case was closed, it failed. Turned out that some signals were a little weak or somesuch, and the EPROM-based microprocessor (which, having been repeatedly erased during development, didn't have its cover on) was only detecting these signals when it had an incandescent light shining on its erase window. The product ended up being demoed (and functioning perfectly) with a 12-volt light bulb taped to the inside of the case.

      --
      Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.
  11. Re:Possibilities... by utopianfiat · · Score: 3, Funny

    congratulations, Xerox! You've just invented the eraser!

    --
    +5, Truth
  12. newspaper? by v1 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder if that would work for newspapers? If they could make the paper more durable, you could read the paper, and when you picked up the next day's paper you could toss them the old one for a "deposit" discount on the next one. They'd just use it again. Save them on paper costs?

    --
    I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
  13. Re:How can you look in to the past? by RiotingPacifist · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Probably, if i know anything about chemistry its that its rarley absolute, it quite likely that statistical OCR will always be able to read what was printed on the paper.

    OFC if your printing secrets on reusable paper your then given to your enemies, you probably have other problems.

    If they can extend the lifetime of the pages to month or maybe even years, this would really help academic institudes and the such, where lots of stuff gets printed but is rarely needed for more than a couple of weeks.

    --
    IranAir Flight 655 never forget!
  14. Re:Inovative by TapeCutter · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Xerox has always been inovative"

    Yeah, but they stole this technology from the wallet photo in 'Back to the Future'.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  15. Re:Ah yes, green paper. by fractoid · · Score: 2, Funny

    Turn them both black, I imagine. As long as they got sufficient sunlight, that is...

    --
    Rampant carbon sequestration destroyed the Dinosaurs' tropical paradise. I'm here to help repair the damage.