Xerox Invents Erasable Paper - Self-erasing, Re-usable

Because many e-mails and documents are printed out for brief viewing and then soon discarded or recycled, Xerox invented printing technology that creates images that last only a day. The technology, dubbed Erasable Paper, could lead to a significant reduction in the amount of paper used in an office, because once the image fades away, the paper can be used over and over.

The experimental printing technology came out of a collaboration between the Xerox Research Centre of Canada and the Palo Alto Research Center. According to an online release, the "aha" moment came for Xerox researchers when they developed compounds that change color when they absorb a certain wavelength of light but then will gradually disappear. As it stands now, the paper erases itself in a 16- to 24-hour range. The paper then can be reused.

EETimes