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Study of the conditions of irradiating laser for removal of toner from used paper
Author(s) -
Ihori Haruo,
Inagawa Yuki,
Ito Naohiro,
Fujii Masaharu,
Ninomiya Hideki
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
electrical engineering in japan
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.136
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1520-6416
pISSN - 0424-7760
DOI - 10.1002/eej.21214
Subject(s) - reuse , laser , irradiation , energy density , copying , materials science , laser ablation , energy (signal processing) , computer science , optoelectronics , process engineering , optics , engineering physics , engineering , waste management , physics , nuclear physics , quantum mechanics , political science , law
Though it is said that the paperless age arrived with the spread of personal computers, the amount of office paper used shows no tendency to decrease. In general, used paper is recovered and recycled in order to preserve the environment. But labor and expense are required for the recovery of used paper and the recycled paper is lower in quality. If we could reuse used paper repeatedly without these disadvantages, for example, by using copying machines that could print again by removing the toner on used paper, it would be very convenient and ecological. We therefore studied the removal of toner from used paper by the laser ablation technique. As an optical source, an SHG‐YAG laser was chosen. The energy density of irradiation with an SHG‐YAG laser for the removal of toner from used paper was examined. At an energy density of approximately 12 mJ/mm 2 , which was the average value, the toner was removed sufficiently to allow reuse of the paper. The conditions of the laser irradiation, specifically the laser scanning speed and the number of irradiations, were studied. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 179(1): 8–14, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21214