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?"
Why? (Score:1, Interesting)
Neat idea. (Score:4, Interesting)
I appreciate the sentiment, but business is about getting business done. The first time work was lost because someone left the memo on their desk for more than xxx hours would be the end of the system. I can imagine some cruel managers getting a kick out of it, but that's about it.
The "paperless office" was a 100x better idea than this (and an idea that's not entirely dead, either. I telecommute, and my office is 99.9% paperless).
How old is the Xerox page? (Score:1, Interesting)
My guess is this is just some research project from ages ago that never went anywhere. If they developed it that long ago, wouldn't it have become a product that we'd have heard of by now?
dom
That's just it (Score:4, Interesting)
99% of the time they are in the recycle bin within the hour, but sometimes i'll have a particular issue that means i need the printout for a week or more.
The other big plus to paper is that i can annotate things that might be hard on screen. I imagine if i make pencil scribblings on it it'll be useless for recycling.
In the corporate world many things are printed and never read. I had a tech lead years ago that swore he put a photocopied page from a russian engineering textbook in every large report he ever submitted to management - never got asked about it.
Re:Reusable paper good idea but only in volume (Score:2, Interesting)
Passive screen (Score:3, Interesting)
There are *some* e-ink products around... (Score:3, Interesting)
Here's a WP article with photo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Reader [wikipedia.org]
It uses some form of e-ink passive display that involves "microcapsules" filled with dye particles. Frankly the whole thing sounds suspiciously like an electronic etch-a-sketch.
Re:Why? (Score:1, Interesting)
I certainly would use this (Score:3, Interesting)
One Word: (Score:2, Interesting)
I took a quick look around the many bits of paper scattered about my desk, most of which I looked at once and then chucked aside, and thought how useful this would be - until I noticed how many had been stapled together. Sure, you
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)