Ink-Free Light-Printable Paper Can Help Save the Environment

Have you thought about how the environment is impacted because of paper? Paper can too have a huge impact on the environment, especially inked or printed papers. Therefore the researchers at Shandong University, the University of California, and Riverside and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have invented a light-printable and a rewritable paper.

The scientists have found out that instead of using ink, UV light can be used to print and it can also be erased by heating up to 120°C. This light-printable paper can be rewritten 80 times. The UV light-printing magic lies in the color changing capability of the nanoparticles, a thin layer of which are coated on the conventional paper in order to make it light-printable.

According to Professor Yadong Yin of the University of California, “The main agenda of the researchers was to invent a solid-state photo-reversible color-switching system in order to develop a light-printable and rewritable paper which is similar in appearance to the conventional paper. It is a printable and erasable version without any use of ink. This new paper version can be an economic and eco-friendly development for the society.”

Speaking of paper, why can’t we just use a recycled paper? The major drawback is that the paper production leads to industrial pollution and also sums up to pollute the major part of the landfills. These problems can be overcome using the ink-free light-printable version. The usage of the paper which adds to the deforestation can be reduced by using this rewritable paper.

Lastly, the researchers want this paper version to reach a commercial scale as it is inexpensive and they are also trying to develop a laser printer in order to make the printing of light-printable paper faster.