Photocopying has been one of the more cheaper and simpler ways of creating physical copies of documents. It’s not the best paper saver though, especially when misprints have been made. Yes, sure you can use the under side of the misprint, but mess up twice and the paper will go into the recycle bin.
Now with Toshiba Tec‘s erasable toner, you will be able to use the paper up to five times.
Erasable copying has existed previously, but with those conventions, usually special paper is needed along with their compatible copiers. With Toshiba’s invention, regular paper and a compatible photocopier will work. Not too bad, at least there you can save on the paper.
The principals behind how the erasable toner works the same as Pilot’s line of erasable pens, using heat to erase the ink. Although the ink itself is invisible, marks left behind on the paper are still barely visible, so sensitive documents should head to the shredder.
View the erasable toner and copier in action here.
The photocopy machine comes also with a built-in scanner, which is perfect for archiving documents as they are erased. The machine is also able to sort paper that is reusable and paper that is not, unlike conventional photocopiers in which a person has to sort out the sheets manually.
Toshiba is develeping the system now, with plans to release somtime this winter. Currently the only colour available for the ink will be blue, but they are planning to develop other colors as well.
This sounds like a great idea, and it’s good to the environment too. For some reasone, I tend to make a lot of misprints if I’m working the photocopying machine, so at least with the erasable toner, I can reuse the paper.