Kindles, iPhones, laptops, and maybe an Apple Tablet make avoiding the printer a cinch. However, should someone actually need to read off dead trees, a new method to remove ink from white paper could make office paper far easier to reuse. All it takes is a solution of 60 percent dimethylsulphoxide and 40 percent chloroform and a little agitation to shake off the ink, and used paper will be almost as good as new, according to a new study. From Physorg.com:
[Researchers] found that a combination of solvents can remove toner print from paper without harming the paper to make it reusable, although the resulting paper is not quite as white as new paper.
Physorg.com also has a an image of the comparisons between printing on paper treated with chemical solutions versus printing on a fresh sheet. It's hard to imaging any office keeping a wet lab and actually doing this, and sloshing through all that solvent can't be very safe or economical. So here's an alternative idea: Just stop printing altogether and read things digitally like everyone else. Related Content: Discoblog: Not Subtle, But It Works: Peepoo Bag Converts Human Waste Into Fertilizer Discoblog: Newspapers May Be Dying, But Their Corpses Could Reduce Toxic Waste Discoblog: Today’s Conservation Gimmick: Drink Your Shower Water!
Image: flickr / michaelkpate
