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  • it would be more awesome if the printer use ordinary A4 paper... =(

  • fuck it, the price is worth it

    I'm tired of spending hundreds on ink

  • 500,000 yen it s about 6000 euros

  • 500,000 yen?? Who is it for, richie rich???

  • when was it invented... like what year??

    

  • How much is 500000 yen?

  • It is so expensive....

  • oohhh the paper is a special type of plastic so instead of using paper we're using MOAR PLASTIC! damn you japan damn you!

  • no rippoff ink? no ripoff toner? but ripoff PAPER?!

    yeah...

    that's bullshit..

  • when will you invent the color version?

  • @tgsarahuk the princip is here... then i think thell just need to implement it as RGB setup (like the tiny leds in our TVs ^^)

  • CD burners used to cost about as much as that printer in the early 90s!

    And blank CD-R media also priced similarly as those sheets at some point!

  • The iPad 9 (release date of 2020) is going to be as thin as a sheet of paper making this printer obsolete.

  • plastic paper? really?!?

  • it should be equipped with some kind of uncrumpling mechanism

  • Printing today is only necessary for printing out stupid forms that need to be filled out, because in some cases its still too hard to go all digital. These can't really be written on. Information archival is almost completely digital.

    Or am I missing something?

  • @Daghead For an example construction drawings. That you need to have on paper. And trust me this would save ALOT of trees.

  • How much is a yen (in dollars)?

  • Comment removed

  • Type of a HUGE report for class. Leave it in your car on a hot day. Come back and it's a stack of white paper. "I swear it was there this morning!!"

  • 500000 yen for the printer and 300 yen per sheet?!? itll be cheaper for me to buy stacks of paper and a new laser printer every year for about 10 years.

  • @ionglacier Not really, since each plastic sheet is meant to be used 1,000 times and it can be bought in stacks of 1,000. That stack is equivalent to 1,000,000 sheets of paper. How much would it cost you in ink and paper to make 1,000,000 documents with a regular printer? Besides all that, it's a relatively new product. Once it's been around for a while and the technology is refined..... the price will definitely come down.

  • it's sort of like etch-a-sketch but less of a hassle!...

  • great. now if i make a mistake..i can just print it again without wasting ink!

  • I remember my econmic teacher told me about this back in 2001. I always thought this was out a long time ago.

  • why the f*ck is there a related link to 'Lady Gaga - Bad Romance' on the right???>>>

  • This was the first idea of what to do with e-ink after this have had been invented many years ago -- it must be possible to modify the e-ink paper from outside so that they do not must invent all that cables etc. Just build a printer and make re-usable paper. For the sake of the earth. I mailed them, they called me an idiot.

    I hope you have many success with your product.

  • Meanwhile, in 2057: "LOL, you guys remember toner?"

  • Good idea, I know the problem with my printer is that I almost never use it, then when I need it, the ink is dried out.

  • Interesting concept. The problem I see is this: If heat is all that's needed to erase the printing, then sending any documents through the mail or by courier could wipe out the documents. And in the US, the spring and summer months get well over 100 degrees. A car can get up to 150 degrees on a 105 degree day in the mall parking lot.

    I don't see this ever catching on. The plastic "paper" media is more damaging to the environment to produce than regular paper. Trees DO grow back.

  • @DrGoodwrench64 Temperature isn't an issue if the printheads operate at much higher levels. The plastic paper can be reused many times, so may be more environmentally friendly. Don't forget the large amounts of water, energy and toxic bleaching agents that are required to produce regular paper, and the energy required to ship it around the planet.

  • @dalriada842

    Oh but the new plastic-paper replacement is easier on the environment and takes less energy to produce?

    And if it's reusable then things like a signed contract wouldn't be worth the plastic they're printed on because the page could go blank on it's own or be altered easily without evidence of tampering. And what about the people that refuse to take the time to recycle anything. They would end up throwing the plastic-paper in the trash and then it would end up in the landfills.

  • @DrGoodwrench64 It obviously isn't suitable for everything, just as an erasable pen wouldn't be suitable for signing a contract. There is still a lot of other communication in large businesses that would benefit. Employees discarding perfectly usable 'stationery' would be a disciplinary matter.

    It's likely the developer has already come up with a viable business model.

  • @dalriada842

    That's my point. While this is an interesting novelty, like the electronic white board and Novell, it will end up the same way as these did. Too expensive to justify, too limited in it's scope of use and too much headache to support in a working production environment.

    Plus, your argument of this being less damaging to the environment is ludicrous. Paper is a readily recyclable product that biodegrades quickly. Plastic is almost impossible to recycle and doesn't biodegrade.

  • @DrGoodwrench64 Only time will tell with your comments in the first paragraph. As for the recycling bit...I have SIX! bins for recycling various materials, including plastic. This is part of my local councils recycling policy. Facilities already exist where I live. Paper is renewable and biodegradable, but you're ignoring the toxic bleaching agents, large water requirements and energy needed to produce it.

  • @DrGoodwrench64 It obviously requires some analysis to determine which has the lower environmental footprint for the life of the product. I can remember people scoffing at LCD displays for their poor quality to begin with. The same happened with e-ink displays. I wouldn't be too quick to write it off:)

  • @dalriada842

    While we wait, we could go back and forth on the big hurdles this thing is going to have to overcome if they ever expect this to catch on and become a Name Brand.

    But let me say this: In my last job, I was one of 3 Systems Administrators that ran a $8 million Data Center for a 9-1-1 Call Center, as well as Fire dispatch for 19 counties in Nor-Cal and Ambulance\medical transport services. Part of our job-scope was to evaluate new technologies, like this printer.

    (cont...)

  • (cont...)

    It looks like ecoimaging has already done some preliminary number crunching for us. Thanks ecoimaging!

    OK,

    "For a company to print 100,000 prints per day, they would need 35 Prepeat printers @ $5,500.00 = $192,500.00. Add $330.oo in "plastic" paper (PET film) per 100k prints." - Ouch!

    His 100k\day is a good number. We had 550 Billing Specialists at our location. There were 6 other locations with over 800 Billers + management & support staff! So 100k is a light day for us.

    (Cont...)

  • (cont...)

    And believe me when I say, "It's almost easier to teach a monkey to write Shakespeare than it is to teach a group of adults how to load the paper into the printer properly! Really, I'm not joking. Thank God the printers hold like, 6 reams of paper!

    So for my company to consider adopting this new tech printer and the new PET media, there would HAVE TO BE some pressing need to justify the costs.

    (cont...)

  • (cont...)

    It would take 150+ (about $800k) PET printers to do the volume of work the 25-30 Ikons we have now. We lease these big printers and they all have a life-time maintenance service contract that covers everything.

    This company would have to offer an equal value and I don't see 2 pg.\min turning anyone's head.

    Image scanners and a DVD Jukebox is way cheaper than paper, Greener than printers and permanent!

    If this thing had crossed my desk, I'd have said "No" to it as would any SysAdmin.

  • Look, I'm not tryin' to bust your chops over this, I can see that it has a limited usability, a low R.O.I. and a high maintenance cost. The are the 3 things to look for when analyzing any kind of new technology.

    These are the questions I would have to get the answer to, generate a full report on and present it all to my bosses in a nice presentation that's easy for them to understand, then let them make the final decision.

    Plus, this thing just reminds me a giant Dymo Thermal Label Maker. ;)

  • @DrGoodwrench64 I don't disagree with your analysis, and I mentioned the paper handling issue in a comment to ecoimaging. This is clearly not suited to the kind of environment you described. Print speed is an issue, but there could be a use in smaller enterprises. Your analysis is predicated on the high cost of a first generation device and its special paper. If they can find enough customers for whom it does make sense, the weaknesses will be addressed in future products. As have other printers

  • Speed is a serious issue - at 30 seconds per page (2 sheets per minute), each printer can do 2,880 pages per day. For a company to print 100,000 prints per day, they would need 35 Prepeat printers @ $5,500.00 = $192,500.00. Add $330.oo in "plastic" paper (PET film) per 100k prints.

    vs. 100k prints on 3 HP LJ Printers, $530.00 cost in toner, plus $220.00 for paper. It would take 486+ days to equal the same cost.

    Will Prepeat printers last that long, with 1,400,000 prints per printer?

  • @ecoimaging You're forgetting that most companies wouldn't use a tiny Prepeat printer to compete with a massive Laser printer. The Prepeat would compare more to an Inkjet printer where the speed is often equal or better than traditional inkjets.

    Plus, like the top commenter said, this is only a prototype. Every new technology starts somewhere and costs an arm and a leg. Computers weren't affordable at all 10, 20 years ago. Now people replace em like last year's fashion trend.

  • Also, what if you want to print in color? Too many limitations with the Prepeat printer.

  • @ecoimaging There are lots of companies using monochrome laser printers for internal documentation. My main concern would be how regular handling would reduce the number of times the paper could be reused without jamming the printer.

  • I don't think it will end up saving money in the long run or is environmentally friendly for a couple of reasons. With such a high cost of the printer, and without knowing the reliability factor and service issues let alone what the actually speed is, I was only comparing the pricing to a small HP laser printer, whereas it is even less cost per print with larger laser printers and they print much faster. Making paper is more eco-friendly than making "plastic" paper & same goes with recycling it.

  • Without considering speed of printer, reliability or service issues, let's compare cost;

    HP 1320dn printer, at eco-imaging a Jumbo Yield toner cartridge (Q5949J) cost $49.00 with a page yield of 9,200. If you do the math ($49.00 by 9,200 = $.0053 per print. Now, divide the cost of the Prepeat printer ($5,500.00 by $.0053) and you'll see that you can print 1,037,735 for the same cost of the printer.

    Paper pricing, $33.00 for Prepeat paper vs. $22.00 - $25.00 for a case of paper.

  • WOW.... What a waste of investment in R&D. normally when you print something its because you want a permanent hard copy of it, not because you want to erase it a few days later.This wont save money or paper its just a joke! total EPIC FAIL.

  • WOW! JUST.. WOW!

  • you print something like : some room is on the second floor... stick to wall ... and the sun makes it disappear

    BTW: the thermoprinter paper emulsion is very hazardous for the human health

    all in all the device is good, but with number of drawbacks of course

  • If the mail was so cheap, this would be a great idea. They need a quantum envelope system.

  • woaahhhhh

  • over $6,000 for the printer alone????? i hope it comes with a miniature free gold bullion at that price!!!!!!

  • The problem I see here is the cost of the paper. In effect you would have to replace your total use of regular paper for this machine to be effective.

  • Combine this with the machine that converts plastic into oil, and it would be awesome.

    Search for "Man invents machine to convert plastic into oil"

  • at least paper is bio degradable. there is already way too much plastic in the world. if only they could do this with paper.

  • @gmikoner Yes, we should just use paper until all the trees are gone. You should be president.

  • @gmikoner Think about it plastic can be recycled so this is better than paper cause it can be used over and over vs making the paper that can only be used once. We recycle plastic bottle i would think it can't be much dif then again there might be harmful chemicals in the plastic paper that keep it from being recycled.

  • omg that is the coolest thing ever

  • plastic is the worst thing for the environment. its an excellent idea but we need to stop using so much plastic

  • @mos277 No, humans are

  • @mos277 Why? The sheets are reusable, also, plastic isn't that bad, it just needs to be collected and recycled.

  • I say we go to stone tablets .. they are safe for the environment and last a long time ...and we can train birds w/ sharp beaks to take dictation.

  • I want one *_*

  • i like it, but isnt plastic sheet even less green [eco friendly]?

  • @zebrumera not at all. You are recycling the plastic sheets 1000 times over and saving lots and lots of trees. If using paper, you are using it once and then throwing it out.

  • @VegsDoItBetter how much trees you need to burn for the energy to recycle plastic (but the paper simply degrades and trees regrow)

  • @zebrumera

    i guess one plastic sheet opposed to 1000 paper sheets is more eco friendly?

  • @xKoFFeex And cheap :O only like 3.30 $ per sheet, no ink.

  • this whole video looks old... look at the laptop and mouse... and who shapes printers like that anymore?

    im probably wrong but o well

  • wow. this is awesome!! No wonder the Japanese are one of the leading places in the world. They are so advance

  • @superbroombroom dude thank God that we don't have MacDonald's.

    I believe having Mac got not relation with this kind of goods.

  • When this kind of goods are going to arrive to a country called Yemen.

  • what crap..... they stack 1000 sheets of paper and one sheet of prepeat paper... what if I need 1000 pages of a document?

  • @ati47 Then you buy an IPAD or Kindle and jerk your way to happiness.

  • Hmm, I'm concerned about how to detect that the life of the paper is coming to an end and if the paper is having important info when it dies. And also about the heat sensitivity, since it's not hard to think that it might be carelessly placed on a hot laptop and have everything wiped out. Still, this is awefully smart.

  • @Minamiblues Can not u Backup ur stuff to Flash drive or Hard drive and reprint the papers again and again ..

  • Arizona Student In July: Uh...honest professor! My doctorate was here!

  • wow that's so easy a caveman can do it

  • I believe this product is great, a paperless toner less, ink less product is great although the use of plastic is bad to an extent with the production of plastic made out of corn the this is a perfect product

  • Hmmm...as easy as make a completely white picture with paint, print it, and you have a blank paper to print in...

  • thebarnz1983 you better trust a paper than a software system

  • thebarnz1983, can you tell us all how easily to go PAPERLESS? By producing more electronic / organic display panel? Or maybe, a chip implantation, then connect yourself to computer to read the world? You're environmental friendly but don't simply comment STUPID to the similar attempt.

  • What about stapling for packets....

  • Mankind needs to get ready for deluge of plastic "paper" for disposal on an already creaking planet

  • Folks -

    This is stepping stone.

    When the first electronic handheld calculators came out in the 60's, they could only do the 4 basic functions, and cost hundreds of dollars.

    The first mainframe computers weighed tens of tons, filled huge rooms, and consumed enough power to light a small city. A modern laptop could kick its ass.

    The future of printing may lie along the lines of the PrePeat, or it may take some other course. Only time will tell...

  • awesome tech, not useful. most important documents have to be stored 10 years before they can be destroyed. or we just change contract law...

  • OR you could use your brain and every 8 years they can reprint the documents that are stored on a computer. And maybe this isnt used to store legal documents. I mean schools can use this amazingly efficient. So can home users. You can use this in an office for tons of things. Maybe this is why you arent featured anywhere for inventing anything intelligent.

  • sadly printed out documents are not permissible in court because of the ease of tampering with them. would make life a lot easier.

    then, to stoop a little lower: WERE IS UR INTELLEGENT INVENTIUN HUH?

    also, u mad?

  • SO every legal document is handwritten? Oh its not? well then why couldnt a court system use a system where the court enters the document into a very secure offline network. and when that document is needed it is printed off and used. and like i said even if it isnt used for legal documents how is this a not useful technology? i gave some pretty good examples.

  • I want one! Oh... feck... it's expensive!

  • so is this printer like other thermal printers where if the document is in an environment that is too hot the document will go blank? ive had experience with other thermal printers where under just a little bit of heat the text disappeared

  • the technology will also advance as time goes on.

  • So, only need that RW paper...

    Nice!

  • I wonder what would happen to important documents if they were exposed to heat.

  • Technically speaking, this is very cool. But don't bill it as a money saver. The printer is $5500 and packet of 1000 sheets of paper is around $3300. How is this saving money again?

  • it's more like an investment. 1000 sheets that can be used 1000 times are like 1 million sheets of paper. that could practically last a very very long time for small offices and businesses. and of course, if a big company takes hold of it, costs would be reduced a big amount.

  • The reusable sheets are great for But most things that are printed are intended to be permanent. If I print an invoice, am I supposed to ask the client to photocopy it and send back the $3 sheet of paper? it just doesn't really work. The $5000 price tag is only justifiable if the printer can print without toner on normal paper. The need for special paper really limits the usefulness of a printer like this.

  • Well in school i type an essay, get graded for it then just put it back in the paper sheet bin. Though 5000$ is probably not worth it compared to recycling.

  • apparently you don't know how much ink a school printer goes through.(allllllllllooooooooot­) at the end of the year we use up(hundreds) huge cartridges that cost 150$ each this cartridges are not the normal hand size ones that go for like 30-40

  • of course it's strictly not for mass production yet. you gotta take into consideration that most new technologies are really expensive, and more research has to be done in order to reduce the price. but it's a great idea, and would really help out the environment.

  • very nice idea: )

  • I published this video on the Dutch website WELSTIJL (17 february) Kind regards Sem Mallée

  • this printer fucking costs £3484 (500,000 yen) insane

  • @taleofrevenge im pretty sure thats what some companies spend on ink in a 3 month period thou, so you gotta weigh that in as well

  • Wow,

    That is awesome technology.

    Great video.

    Peter Montgomery.

  • i would like to test it... it's really sometthig new and can make much for eviroment..

  • хрень японска

  • Сам ты херьня, на них равняться надо,

    перенимать опыт, а наши русские инженеры дрочат в кладовках в это время!!

  • @mahmutil i dont know a shit of what did u say.. but i will thumbs up

  • Japanci ostaju Japanci. :) Veoma korisno rešenje čija će korisnost doći do izražaja tek u budućnosti. Jedina "mana" mu je cena od 4000 eura za štampač i 2,34 eura za list papira (što i ne bi bila velika "mana" da jedan ris nema 1000 listova). Međutim, kao i kod svih noviteta u ovoj oblasti, vreme će korigovati "mane" i pokazati pravu vrednost ovog proizvoda. Na nama je da sačekamo. ;)

  • Comment removed

  • 165 штук за принтер и еще 100 штук за пачку "бумаги" из 1000 листов? Круто... Потерял листик - минус сто рублей %)

  • экономично однако...

    молодцы они

  • прикольно, ток бумага наверное дорогая - дешевле на обычке печатать

  • hmm,, japanese intellegend man, with a high-tech printer, and still using a very old laptop. I mean look at it, it still have a Floppy disk drive.. ?

    kinda weird =p

  • the "paper is made from plastic..hmmmmm......

  • make it color and u got a deal :D

  • он чо типа картику изменяет

  • Круто.

  • "as if by magic"? For fuck's sake, don't make us all to be retards.

  • Hmm this will be a nice alternative to book readers. It is a little too expensive but <i would use one of this to read my electronic books and work related documentation. It is quite annoying to read from my monitor and the quality A4 book readers are expensive and need bateries.

  • wow nice HD

  • this invention sucks i will explain.

    when you print you want the paper or in this situation plastic sheets of 2,50 a peace, to go to a client or in the mail and those things, so its clear you are not gonna get the sheets back so why pay so much??

  • Big companies would pay so much if they use a lot of paper sheets, but don't need it any more later!

  • not to mention added costs of color printing for all the employes

  • ohh yes!!

  • but can u still write and draw on the paper

  • How much in US dollars?

  • 5 565

  • Cavolo... dove arriveremo di questo passo :D

  • pourquoi vendu par lot de 1000″, si on peut utiliser une feuille 1000 fois?pour les matheux cest comme si on achetait 1000^1000 feuilles (ou un truc comme ça :D)

  • parce que tu dois donner la feuille a´homme en temps

    sorry im not french :o

  • can you write what you wanted to say in english please(i'll use google to translate :D)

  • "because sometimes you have to give away the paper to another human"

    google :

    parce que parfois vous devez donner le document à un autre être humain

  • yes but imagine you want just 100 paper(the 900 remaining are useless and it's not ecologic :D)

  • I think the target here are big companies who will use thousands of paper sheets.

    Best regards!

  • ya thats true ^^ maybe it will change in the future

  • Fantastic invention, technology for the future. Would buy it today if the price was 500 Dollar. This will become a very popular machine.

  • In 10 years that printer will cost the same as the printer we use now.. lol.

  • usefull for useless homework

    :)

  • so you cant use the paper for play mini basket ? fuck it.. i will not buy this thing.

  • What? Why? I believe 95 % of printed stuff in offices needs just black because people print charts/text info to have them in their hands.

    I'm an graphic designer and even me, IF ever using a printer, it was always for this type of shit. So... shut the fcuk up with your opinion, seriously.

  • And why it is so Eco? It using plastic (not eco), and consumes a lot of power (not Eco). For my opinion, most Eco friendly printers, must be based on ink. It is using an ink (renewable source), consume fraction of el. power to print, and uses paper. Offset paper, is generally made from fast growing wood, and has very minor impact on environment.

  • I see... This product is something new, it has potential, but not in this version. I can describe many, many flaws despite price. First it is slow, second it is printing in low resolution, text and fonts is poorly rendered and printed (quality is like from old fax machines). It is very expensive, I can have for 5000$ not only very fast printer, and very high quality, but also cost included for at least 50 000 - 100 000 black/white prints.

  • $5,000.-?

    I thought it was a great idea until I heard the price.

  • @allgoo19

    It's the future. When it will become popular it will be cheaper.

  • Could this machine cleared only it what not need?

  • The paper is too valuable to staple or pin to a board. A special posting board would need be used.

  • they say "target companies" nothing about consumers !

  • cool project but for 'massive use' like offices and more, the paper price is expensive.. Its a new technology, and I hope the paper price someday will cost less

  • It is quite expensive. I wonder if 300 yen is for one sheet of paper or for package of 1000.

  • 3$+ for one sheet of paper that can be used ~1000 times.

  • But how long does a sheet of paper last? Maybe that's why it's priced at $3 a sheet so you never lose it. I mean if you had to print a report of some that was in excess of 50 pages your going to be spending well over $100 on paper. This thing is ridiculous. I thought it would have peen on that simply could use any paper and no ink.

  • @alchemyx

    One Sheet that can be used 1000 times ;>

  • wow! It's Fantastic!

  • sadece elektrikle çalışan, kartuş ve toner olmaya, aynı kağıda yaklaşık 1000 baskı yapabilen mükemmel bir alet tabi biraz tuzlu :) yaklaşık 6000$ cık......

  • @farbod922

    He said "Yaku go ju man gurai" means about 500,000 yen.

  • he said "hyaku go ju man Gurai" which simply means "about 1,500,000"

  • this is pretty useful for recycle paper. Usually I print a lot of things, some of them go wrong so with this printer I can ´erase´ that and use the same sheet again. I believe the price will go down through the years.

  • Sounded more like he said "hyaku go jū man" so that's 1,500,000 yen?

  • Pinta eImprime

  • Good...

  • DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SCRAP PAPER!!!

  • @peterk202

    Well, you're stupid in my opinion. You just said it's "YEN" and that's japanese currency. Don't think that all asian are chinese. Get some education. Thank you :)

  • @

    eyhoalan

    I DONT GIVE A FUCK They all look the same and it a fucken rip off

    so fuck off idiot

  • @peterk202

    Lolz they are Japanese knob..

    Those printer will be ass cheap someday just gotta wait <.<

    It's an awesome idea.

  • the paper is made from recycled plastic paper that comes from trees

  • how recyclable is the plastic paper? its price, weight and quality as when printed in color would kill its applications.. at least at present...

  • y not make a machine that makes new paper from old torn up,wrinkled, paper/newspapers?