Reusable printing paper

[Spastic]

http://news.zdnet.com/2422-13748_22-196764.html

Well that's the video, it is an interesting watch. What happens is the paper is coated with a chemical that reacts to UV LED light, and when exposed to heat (uses a hot plate in the video) it wipes itself clean.

What this means is that they will be making printers to specifically go with these sheets of paper, UV LED printers with some sort of device in them that when you put the paper back in there, it will wipe clean.

As he says in the video that there are some files that need to be stored permanently, but this will cut down on paper waste by an assload, if people get into this and it becomes popular. I don't see how it couldn't become popular, I know I waste all kinds of paper printing out shit that I only need for short term things. I think it is a really good idea with nothing but beneficial outcomes.

[Far]

Depending on how much the paper costs to produce and more importantly to it's success, how much it will cost the consumer, this could be a very good idea. There are tonnes of tiny things I've printed out for one time uses that waste an entire sheet of paper.

[Casalen]

That does sound awesome, yes. Also great if you're a spy and you need to get secret documents to people; after they memorize it, they can just wipe the ink off. Not that I am one, Comrade.

[Spastic]

Depending on how much the paper costs to produce and more importantly to it's success, how much it will cost the consumer, this could be a very good idea. There are tonnes of tiny things I've printed out for one time uses that waste an entire sheet of paper.

I don't think they will be that expensive, he showed how it used the same technology as his glasses, how it turned into sunglasses in the daylight. I don't think so glasses are too expensive, so the paper should be affordable.

I mean it will probably still cost more than a regular sheet of paper, but think how much you would save on not buying paper and just reusing this stuff.

[Far]

I know, it may be tough in the beginning to convince people that the initial extra cost is worth it. Like a lot of good ideas the general public my shun it over familiarity. Hopefully that doesn't happen with this though.

[MaxAlcolo]

This could be very useful for me, especially when printing out tabs. Once I'm done learning what is sometimes only a little riff, I could just keep the sheet for next time instead of throwing it away under my bed like I usually do.

[FlamingPeanuts]

Wow, I'm more impressed that the paper doesn't use ink, which is more expensive and has a greater impact on the environment than paper does, but I think I would still need my normal printer to go with that for permanent documents. I wonder if the paper would last a week in sunlight or whether there is enough uv light from the sun to make the paper fade.

I would love this for revision purposes, just a temporary print. I do this all the time, and can see this catching on.

[Matterialize]

You'd think exposure to the sun would cause the paper to gradually darken, not fade. Be sure not to leave your important documents near open windows.

Not a bad idea though.

[Kashew]

How will teachers grade papers and leave comments without permanently marking the paper? This would be useful for saving paper from rough drafts, but those are the most marked.

[Beefynick]

It would not be something that would be used for schoolwork (at least at the current state of development) it is more of a replacement for single use documents such as bank statements or a printout of the steps to remove a virus from your computer.