Read all about it… before it disappears

Published on Saturday 3 May 2008 19:43

A DAY at the office really could mean ploughing through the same old paperwork.

A team of experts from the same company that gave us the laser printer and the computer mouse is making another major change to the workplace with reusable paper which erases itself after 24 hours so it can be used again. The sheets are coated with special chemicals which turn white on their own or by being run through a special printer, meaning text will disappear and allow the paper to be used again.

Designers at Xerox believe that their reusable paper could save the world's offices at least seven trillion pages a year which would otherwise be printed once and then thrown away. There is one drawback: it is not capable of erasing pen doodles or unfolding paper aeroplanes.

The technology has been welcomed by conservationists who hope that it will lead to less paper being used in offices. The average office worker currently uses 10,000 sheets of paper a year, worth about 70.

The special paper is being developed by a team at the Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC), a research and development arm of the US technology giant Xerox. The same centre previously came up with the laser printer and the computer mouse, two indispensable pieces of modern office equipment.

The paper is coated with photosensitive chemicals that turn white when hit by ultraviolet light, meaning text will either disappear over time or go blank when run through a special printer which speeds the process up. The firm have declined to say what the specific chemicals are.

Instead of using ink to produce words and diagrams, the printer scans the chemically treated paper with a specific wavelength of light which reacts to produce the text. Over the following 24 hours, the text fades away. For users who need their paper to be blank straight away, there will be the option of running sheets through the printer to clean them for the next use. Because the printer uses no ink, it does not need cartridges or refilling.

Mark Bernstein, PARC's director and president, said: "We believe this is going to be very attractive as a standalone desktop printer. It will have a very small profile and be environmentally sensitive too. Hopefully it will be a product some time next year."

In tests they have managed to reuse the sheets "hundreds" of times. However, the recyclable paper becomes useless if scrunched up, torn or scrawled over with pen.

Despite technologists' dreams of a paperless office, the amount of paper used has actually increased as printing technology has made it easier to produce copies. The international technology consultants Lyra Research estimates that 15.2 trillion pages are printed worldwide a year.

Xerox itself says that 44.5% of documents are printed out to be used once and 25% of all documents printed are put into recycling bins the same day.

Green MSP Patrick Harvie said that the Scottish Parliament could make savings on the number of briefing papers and minutes printed each day. But he said: "However, political parties must not be allowed to use this disappearing ink when they print their manifesto pledges!"

He added: "Re-using always beats recycling, and this idea could save businesses massive amounts of money as well as cutting their energy use. Anyone who prints documents out at work ahead of a meeting can see how useful this could be, and the same applies at home."