The researchers at XEROX have created paper which self erases within 24 hours and can be reuse. The catch is that you can’t just use regular ink for it to work. You need a certain type of light
Paul Smith, manager of the Xerox Research Center of Canada’s new materials design and synthesis lab, has quoted :
“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.”
Xerox has estimated that as many as 2 out of every 5 pages printed in an office are for email, Web pages, and reference material. These types of things are printed for a single viewing.
So, how does it work? According to Xerox they were able to develop compounds that change color when they absorb a certain wavelength of light but then will gradually disappear. As the test paper exists now, it self-erases in about 16-24 hours and can be used multiple times.