Greener printing . . .

(Tony Avelar / Bloomberg / March 16, 2012)

I continue to be amazed by technological advancements such as the 3d printer I posted about here. We are surrounded by technology in our workplace and home, but most of us are not aware and certainly not regularly engaged with other advancements that are and will be changing our world.  Another one of those that will at some point find a way into our work is this "unprinter" process that vaporizes ink from paper.  This is the ultimate recycling method, simply reuse the paper once the ink is removed.  Talk about green technology.  Laser blasts are used in the process identified in this LA Times article.

But, as lead author David Leal-Ayala points out to the BBC, the ability to re-use the same piece of paper time and time again may prove to be a greener way to recycle than our current system.


"You use electricity, water and chemicals, and to be honest when you print something the only reason that you don't re-use the paper is because there is print on it," he said.

"The paper is still in good condition and there is no point going through all the heavy industrial process if the paper is still perfectly fine."

What new and unusual innovations are you reading about or using?  Send me a link and/or share in a comment for the readers of this blog to enjoy.