Personally and in the business world, sustainability is a larger and larger issue in our daily lives. This is imperative both for the future of the planet and the future of our businesses (as now creating green friendly programs are becoming less of an option and more of a necessary part of doing business). Together, the world is trying to discover more efficient and effective ways to control our carbon footprint and decrease the amount of waste we produce in everyday work activity. With the entry to the digital age, the percentage of physical prints both in office activity and marketing have been greatly decreased. However, there is still the ongoing need of tangible documents for a multitude of applications within the daily workplace.
If we must print, let's print smart! Studies show that nearly 40% of all pages printed are discarded within the first 24 hours. To combat this issue, Xerox has created a new way to print in order to create truly re-usable paper, or what they term as "erasable paper". The secret: they have discovered a method of printing with light onto the page. Then the compound reacts to certain wavelengths of light that are natural within your environment. As the paper absorbs these wavelengths the color changes and the ink will seem to gradually fade. Within 24 hours the page will again be completely blank and ready for its next usage (to instantly erase the paper, all you need is heat). This can create several prints to be distributed throughout the office and re-cycled time and time again.
Unfortunately, you can't go buy this printer/paper now. Xerox is still within the development stage of creating the concept for full commercial use. But you can't help but think of the amazing impact a product like this would create. I try to encourage people to utilize digital resources as much as possible and avoid physical printing if possible, but this product can bring the best of both worlds. You get the convenience of printed pieces (for absorption of complex information and increased data retention) and the eco benefits of truly re-usable paper. Bravo Xerox!
** additional source treehugger.com