Xerox Showcases 24-hour Self-Erasing Paper

From the folks that brought us the copy machine and the laser printer comes the next advancement in paper technology.  Xerox has created a type of paper (dubbed “Erasable Paper“) that slowly fades back to its original state over the course of 24 hours.  While this may seem prohibitively inconvenient, Xerox claims that 40% of all office print outs are discarded the same day.

Last Friday, during WIRED’s NextFest, Xerox presented this technology to the public with a simple exhibit featuring the paper at different stages of fading.  An especially notable aspect of this process is that it completely eliminates the transportation and reconditioning aspect of recycling.  Instead of going through the lengthy processing cycle, this paper can be reprinted on directly.  This automatic reconditioning is understandably done through some very advanced technology that’s anything but understandable, we’ll let Xerox explain the rest:

“By coating the paper with photosensitive chemicals, a light bar is used to provide a specific wavelength of light that creates visible text on the page. This printing then self-erases over a 24-hour period, so the now-blank paper can be repeatedly reused — not only reducing waste, but also reducing printing and paper costs dramatically. This early-stage technology shows great promise and is not likely to disappear on its way to commercialization.”

We half expected this spiffy invention to be featured among James Bond gadgets, but alas, Q didn’t work for Xerox (or on many environmentally friendly devices).  Equally unfortunate for the rest of us, this technology is still heavily in the research phase.  Stay tuned on when this becomes financially viable.