Reduce / Reuse / Recycle

July 2, 2003

 

Toshiba to Launch 'Disappearing Ink' in Autumn

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Environmental Technology Manufacturing industry Reduce / Reuse / Recycle 

In fall 2003, Japan's Toshiba Corporation will launch sales of "disappearing" printer ink that can be erased by thermal processing. In 1998 the company developed a prototype of an ink that vanishes when heat or solvents are applied, and has been working on commercializing the technology ever since.

With conventional decolorizing technology, treating large volumes of used paper at once was not possible because the process could only be applied to one sheet at a time. However, the recent breakthrough allows for simultaneous treatment of large volumes using solvents or heat at above 120 degrees Celsius (paper ignites at approximately 250 degrees Celsius), thus paving the way to efficient recycling and reuse of paper.

The decolorizing technology capitalizes on a reversal of the reaction that causes color formation in thermal paper printing. An exclusively developed decolorizer is added to the ink together with conventional components, dye and developer. In the decolorization process, the printing is rendered invisible through a chemical reaction that separates the dye from the developer through treatment with heat or solvents. Then, the decolorization is stabilized by bonding the developer with the decolorizer. The overall cost of the new ink is expected to be within the same range as conventional ink, and the company will simultaneously launch sales of a thermal decolorizing device.

Thanks to this technology, paper can be reused up to 10 times, raising expectations for reduction in paper waste, which is said to account for over 40 percent of office waste. The company hopes to expand application of this technology to areas such as home use.

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/1998_09/pr2502.htm

Posted: 2003/07/02 09:04:38 AM
Japanese version

 

このページの先頭へ