Self-Recycling Paper 143
fermion writes "Xerox is reported to be working on some interesting forms of digital paper. The New York Times reports a 16 hour reusable paper. This system uses a coated paper and special ink to produce a copy that will fade over 16 hours, or sooner if the paper is put back in the copy tray. It can then be reused for a new copy, up to 10 times. According to the article, the rational for this is that paper is no longer used to store information, but merely to temporarily display it. The research suggest that in the typical office many copies end up in the recycle bin by the end of the day. The main obstacle to commercialization seems to be the question of whether people need this product. Will people have digital displays that will take the place of paper? Will something radically different from plain paper, but with competitive costs and characteristics, become popular? Xerox itself is working on something called gyricon, a system of tiny bichromal beads encased between sheets of plastics. Evidently the beads can be set electrically to either reflect of absorb light, thus allowing images to be generated at will. According to the page, the images can be set by a printer or a hand held wand. The 'paper' could even be combined with electronics to create a flexible display. So, /., where is our display technology headed? Coated conventional paper? Plastic reprintable paper? Glasses with heads up displays and wireless data feed?"
Reusable paper good idea but only in volume (Score:5, Insightful)
There are indeed many items throughout the day that people need to temporarily display in a dense format, to which paper is ideally suited. But i think electronic paper fed data from the table it sits on or by some other means is probably better suited to this task, since it's truly reusable and probably not something you'd confuse with real paper.
Re:Why? (Score:5, Insightful)
Hurdles to overcome (Score:5, Insightful)
You are now forced to make a decision before you print on whether the output should be temporary or permanent. Sometimes I will print something thinking it's temporary but I decide I need it longer. Or imagine the potential disaster of writing notes on the printout "in context" and that context disappears after 16 hours. Stuff like "ask Mary about this part" or "copy editing" marks.
I applaud the idea of paper recycling like this but couldn't see myself using it.
I think it has a few other issues too:
1. Needing two printers to print
2. Possibly not being able to distinguish between the two types of paper (assuming they look similar)
3. Having to print twice if you decide that you want a permanent copy
4. Cost(?)
paper jams (Score:3, Insightful)
It could work, though. For example, your department or team has a meeting. Different folks pass out relevant information. Immediately before or after the meeting they may also send
Then again, if you're going to go to the trouble of sending everyone electronic versions of the documents, why not give everyone tablet pc's and forget about the paper altogether?
Re:Neat idea. (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to work in a library - and had to deal with the photocopier and lazer printer issues. You can't stick any old pieces of paper in those puppies - it destroys the printer, makes it jam etc. The reams have to be preferrably kept inside their box till used. Don't open half a packet and leave it there -moisture gets in and makes the paper jam more, drum life decreases - print quality decreases etc...
I'm pictring some secretary jamming creased, folded, curled and otherwise munted pieces of 'recycling paper' into the tray of the work copier... Jim from xerox would probably faint
Re:Reusable paper good idea but only in volume (Score:4, Insightful)
It would make more sense to allow the user to decide when the paper needs to be recycled. Create some sort of "de-printer" or "un-printer" that would zap the ink with UV and make it invisible, or something.
Also raises some corporate security issues. A lot of paper currently ends up in the shredder. If the recycled paper preserves minute but detectable traces of what was written before, it may be that it will have to end up in the shredder anyhow.
paper phishing (Score:4, Insightful)
Nope. We need more permanent paper because... (Score:4, Insightful)
At my bank, we store ALL papers in HUGE IronMan boxes and cart them off to offsite storage.
Every cubicle and every office now has notices (in addition to OSHA, money laundering, etc) that warn of dire consequences if we scrub/scrap documents without making sure we don't need them.
I have stopped shredding even 2 years old design papers which contain paper scribblings of long-scrapped or long-finished systems.
They are either in my desk drawers (wonder why the desk is creaking...) or submitted for arhival.
Same goes for email.
We have only soft deletes nowadays on emails and nothing is ever deleted. It is just archived.
This disappearing ink will cause more headaches for people and whet the appetites of lawyers.
I can see a scenario in court:
Defendant: "Honestly your honor, i did NOT know it was that disappearing ink paper. I had written out my idea of reconstructing by buying out xyz bank's share in Acme before we ended up with a different deal."
Lawyer: "Not only did the defendant know this was special paper, she was the one who authorized the purchase of the same 4 years ago, knowing well it looked similar to normal paper, with the delibrate intention of using technology to wipe out criminal actions."
I don't think it will ever succeed beyond a fancy circle...
Xerox thought people would use less paper once emails came into vogue. Our usage of paper has shot up by more than 5 times ever since email and PC's came into being. Now we print out emails, powerpoint slides, reports that are never read, etc.
Is it just me... (Score:2, Insightful)
I print so I can *write* on it (Score:3, Insightful)
Then I print it out and make notes, draw arrows, underline, scratch things out, etc. etc. -- it's just faster than doing the same with a mouse.
OR I print things out if I'm taking a flight in an economy seat and don't want to struggle with the laptop in limited space.
On the other hand, when I was still working in a corporate environment, we'd have lots of meetings where there'd be a printout to refer to during the discussion (and everyone would get a copy). Then after the meeting they'd all get tossed. That seems like a valid application of this technology.
DRM :-( (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:2, Insightful)
- Because if you are reading a document of any real size you can read much faster from paper then you can from a computer screen. Do a speed reading test on a computer and then from printed text. Your speed when reading from paper will win.
- Because you can skim a 50 page report with real speed only if you have it on good old fashioned paper. Find a 50 page PDF file with a passage that you need and see how many minutes it takes to find it. Then print it out and flip through the pages and see how many seconds it takes.
Your brain and eyes are made to operate in a 3D world with real 3D objects. A piece or stack of paper is a real 3D object. The speed that your brain can do an amazingly high resolution search with the eyes is astounding.
Or you could use a 1024x768 display that flips through one static image at a time. Why is there even a question about this?