Toppan Printing Co. and Sony Corp. of Japan have developed a paper-based optical disc, and unveiled details at the Optical Data Storage Conference held in the United States in April 2004.

The material used to make the read-only disc is more than 50 percent paper. It has a storage capacity of 25 gigabytes, thanks to Blu-ray technology, which allows more than two hours of high-definition recording while maintaining image quality.

Blu-ray discs do not require laser light to travel through the substrate, a feature that paved the way for the development of this paper disc. Larger disc capacity contributes to decreasing the amount of raw material used per unit of information. As it is easy to print on paper, the new optical discs can accommodate sophisticated designs. The paper disc also can be cut with scissors, which helps preserve data security when disposing of used discs.

World production of optical discs has increased to about 20 billion a year. The combination of paper material and printing technology is expected to reduce costs, which will increase the range of possible applications. The two companies will continue developing the paper disc for practical use.

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200404/04-0415E/

Posted: 2004/07/20 12:08:15 PM
Japanese version

TAG Eco-product/Business , Manufacturing industry , Non-manufacturing industry , Technology