Xerox Corporation showed off a new innovation from its research laboratory, Palo Alto Research Center Inc. (PARC), in Northern California:  paper that can be reused after it has already been printed upon. 

The paper works by automatically deleting print that has appeared on the paper’s surface within 24 hours from the time after it was printed. This allows the same piece of paper to be reused and reprinted for up to as many as 100 times, one of the managers at PARC claims.

Paperless offices do not really exist, as the need for hard copy documents still persists. Much paper is wasted by printing messages and text that is not needed after it is read and is discarded. Even though some of the paper is recycled, the paper is still used only one time.

However, the PARC reusable paper not only helps reduce waste and is environmentally safe, but it helps reduce paper use and printing costs. The process works similar to this: the paper contains specially coded molecules that create a text print after being exposed to ultraviolet light emitted from the printer’s tiny print bar.

The coded molecules readjust within 24 hours back to their original form and thus delete the print; applying heat will also readjust the molecules immediately. Xerox has developed the molecule code and owns the patents on the process. PARC also says that the miniature size of the ultraviolent print bar will allow it to be used in mobile printers, as well as in larger network printers.

Currently the erasable technology paper and UV printers are not available for color printing, and neither is yet available for the consumer market.