Scientists suggest lasers can remove ink from paper

Dr Julian Allwood, leader of the Low Carbon Materials Processing Group at Cambridge University, tested toner-print removal from paper by employing a variety of lasers.

According to a statement, the results showed that toner ink can be removed effectively without causing significant paper damage.

Coupled with advances in hand-held scanning technology, wireless devices, shredders, copiers and printers, the research means that ink-removing devices may soon be a common sight in offices around the country.

Allwood said: ‘What we need to do now is find someone to build a prototype. Thanks to hand-held scanners and laser-jet printers, the feasibility for reusing paper in the office is there.’

The implications of the study also extend beyond the workplace and into the forest. Removing the tree from the paper lifecycle is a real possibility. Along with saving forests from being used for new paper, reusing paper saves an additional 20 per cent in emissions over recycling.

The study poses the question of what would happen if paper was unprinted and reused instead of recycled. The action of removing ink with a laser would remove four steps from the paper production cycle: forestry, pulping, paper making and disposal by incineration or landfill.