Xerox researchers have developed an experimental printing technology that could someday replace printed pages that are used for just a brief time before being discarded.

The images last only a day, so that the paper can be used again and again. The technology, which is still in a preliminary state, blurs the line between paper documents and digital displays and could ultimately lead to a significant reduction in paper use.

The experimental printing technology is a collaboration between the Xerox Research Centre of Canada and PARC (Palo Alto Research Center Inc.). Xerox estimates that as many as two out of every five pages printed in the office are for what it calls “daily” use, like e-mails, Web pages and reference materials that have been printed for a single viewing.

“Despite our reliance on computers to share and process information, there is still a strong dependence on the printed page for reading and absorbing content. Of course, we’d all like to use less paper, but we know from talking with customers that many people still prefer to work with information on paper. Self-erasing documents for short-term use offers the best of both worlds,” said Paul Smith, manager of XRCC’s new materials design and synthesis lab.

Xerox calls its technology “erasable paper.” It is currently part of a laboratory project that focuses on the concept of future dynamic documents. To develop erasable paper, researchers needed to identify ways to create temporary images. The solution was to develop compounds that change color when they absorb a certain wavelength of light but then will gradually disappear. In its present version, the paper self-erases in about 16-24 hours and can be used multiple times.

While scientists at XRCC work on the chemistry of the technology, their counterparts at PARC are investigating ways to build a device that could write the image onto the special paper. PARC researchers developed a prototype “printer” that creates the image on the paper using a light bar that provides a specific wavelength of light as a writing source. The written image fades naturally over time or can be immediately erased by exposing it to heat.

While potential users have shown interest in transient documents, there is still much to be done if the technology is to be commercialized.

Paul Smith, manager of XRCC’s new materials design and synthesis lab, shows the 16-hour disappearing capabilities of the temporary documents.