Cambridge spin-out Reduse has figured out how to remove ink from paper.
Reduse, a spin-out of Cambridge University, has created technology that is able to remove ink from paper, making the paper re-usable several times. It refers to the process as unprinting.
The company had been operating in stealth mode but has come out of it by celebrating its win at the Venture Competition on August 14, 2014. The competition is run by Climate-Kic UK, a hub located at Imperial College London and a major centre for climate innovation in the UK and the rest of Europe. The competition provides up to €95,000 ($125,000) in funding; Reduse won one of this year’s two prizes of €20,000 ($26,400).
Reduse is now accelerating its development, hiring a chief technology officer and looking for investors to join its first seed round. It has already secured a £224,000 ($371,400) grant from the UK government’s innovation agency Technology Strategy Board.
The unprinting technology is based on research by David Leal, who developed it during his PhD research at Cambridge University’s Engineering Department under the guidance of Julian Allwood. The two worked together as part of the Low Carbon Materials Processing Group.
The technology works by using lasers to remove ink from laster-printed documents, which can be done several times over without any damage to the paper.
Richard Templer, director at Climate-Kic UK, said: “I am really delighted that Reduse were selected as co-winners in our UK Venture Competition. The other competitors were exceptionally strong but Reduse stood out with their vision and creativity.”
