Xerox Invents Erasable Paper; Hairdryer Manufacturers Rejoice

Fans of pelting balls of waste paper into trashcans – beware. Researchers at Xerox have released word of a new erasable paper that makes your pastime redundant.

According to a 12 December report by T. M. Washington at Posterous.com, the images printed on the Xerox erasable paper last only a day. Subjecting the sheets to heat or light makes the images disappear more quickly though – as shown in a video by Xerox (see above.)

For offices eager to test the Xerox invention, this of course raises the question: how best to subject the erasable paper to heat? The Xerox video features a hairdryer – potentially sparking a new office supplies market for home appliance brands.

Though still in the preliminary stages, scientists at the Palo Alto Research Center believe Xerox erasable paper could be commercially available in 5-10 years. According to the Xerox press release, Xerox estimate 40% of sheets printed in offices are discarded after 1 day – suggesting a huge market for erasable paper.

Part of a Xerox initiative to develop “dynamic documents,” erasable paper became possible when scientists discovered how to create temporary images. Creating images with a special compound means they change colour when hit by certain wavelengths, then gradually disappear.

Scientists at PARC are developing a counterpart printer for Xerox’s erasable paper – which uses a specific frequency of light to generate images on the sheets. According to the Xerox press release, many clients have expressed an interest in “transient documents.” It will be years though, before erasable paper is commercially ready.

Paul Smith, Manager of Xerox Corporation’s materials design & synthesis lab, said: "Despite our reliance on computers to share and process information, there is still a strong dependence on the printed page for reading and absorbing content. Self-erasing documents for short-term use offers the best of both worlds.”

This is completely true; unless of course, you enjoy pelting balls of waste paper into trashcans.