Issue #0640/1 - Paper that can be used time after time could revolutionise the life cycle of the transient document, save paper and trees and improve document security.
Paperless office – never!
Well, maybe not ‘never’. But for the foreseeable future we rely on paper to such a high degree that it is inconceivable that we will stop printing altogether and rely on systems and technologies that do not have a paper-based element to them.
We love paper too much. Even emails are printed in their thousands so that they can be read; paper memos and documents are still distributed around offices; and paper plays a major part in collaborative discussions and planning sessions.
And this is exactly where the concept of erasable paper finds its place because so many of the pages used in these activities are transient, or temporary, with a life of less than a day or, in some instances, less than an hour!
Why then, do we want to use valuable resources and spend hard-earned money printing something that we know will be consigned to the waste bin within a few short hours?
Forward-looking technology trailblazers like Xerox, Fujitsu and Anoto are working hard to make the vision of the paperless office a reality.
But, so far, none have cracked commercial viability.
Xerox has been working on the concept of re-addressable digital paper for a number of years. Its latest iteration, referred to as ‘erasable paper’, has been developed in Canada, with a writing system under development in the US, and is based on chemical compounds that undergo a colour change when exposed to specific light wavelengths.
Of the prototypes so far produced, this appears to be the closest to real paper in its basic nature. It does not rely on any onboard silicon memory or a power supply because, like real paper, it is the material itself that is the ‘memory’.
One might imagine the writing system (printer) being based on laser or LED printer technology where it is the paper passing through the printer that is exposed to beams of light instead of an OPC drum being exposed to LED illumination or a laser beam.
Once printed, the erasable paper (in its current form) has a limited life, said to be in the order of 16 -24 hours, before the image fades away completely and the paper can be reused. If a shorter life is required, the paper can be erased by the application of heat.
At this early stage, we cannot be sure of the characteristics a final commercial version might display if it becomes a commercial viability and reaches the market. Perhaps the 16-24hr life might be extended; perhaps there will be different versions capable of lasting 1hr, 12hrs, 24hrs, 1 week, etc.; or, perhaps the life will be extended, requiring short life documents to be deliberately erased by exposure to heat at the document’s end of life.
Maybe the printer could even have a built-in eraser to ensure that the image really has been destroyed before a new image is printed. This would avoid potential errors caused by un-erased pages finding their way into a stack for printing before the image has fully self-erased.
Quite rightly, Xerox claims that the new invention could significantly reduce paper usage. An estimated 40% of printed pages in the office (source: Xerox) are transient pages whose life expectancy is a matter of hours. Referring to these pages as ‘daily use’ pages, emails, reference material and web pages are included in this document category.
Viewing erasable paper in this way means tremendous benefits for the environment. But, erasable paper does not benefit only the environment, by minimising tree destruction and paper manufacturing, but it also benefits the environment at the other end of the process as well. Paper that is not manufactured in the first place does not need to be destroyed at the end of life, thus minimising the implications of recycling or waste disposal.
But, this is only one beneficial element to this technology. Because the printed paper will not need to be destroyed because it self-erases, the data held on the page is destroyed even though the physical material is not.
So, erasable paper holds distinct data security benefits. And, remember it can be erased early by the application of heat.
One concern must be the overall life of the erasable paper though. Although Xerox says it can be used multiple times, life is sure not to be unlimited so there will be issues of disposal at some point in time.
Hopefully, the new material will either fall under the auspices of recycling guidelines such as WEEE or be easily recyclable in its own right. Because its manufacture involves chemical processes, unless these light sensitive chemicals are biodegradable, provision will need to be made for its ultimate disposal in an environmentally friendly manner.
As a shift to this type of material occurs, in Xerox’s case of course, it means working to put itself out of business – or at least part of it – but the company has the foresight to involve itself in the development of the technologies that may ultimately replace paper rather than finding itself in a position of suddenly having to re-orientate itself or go out of business.
Erasable paper is probably the first of the digital paper inventions that has real mass-appeal and wide-ranging commercial applications. This, in itself, should ensure that it is a commercially viable product, even allowing executives to take work away from the office with them for review on the train during the journey home.
Erasable paper could definitely have a major impact on paper consumption, data security and the environment.
Go Xerox!
~End~
