Translucent papers are nothing new, but what if you could print your next project on a completely clear sheet without resorting to non-paper materials? Mitsubishi Chemical and Oji Holdings claim to have created just such a paper, according to Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
The trick lies in the use of cellulose nanofibers that are just 1/20,000th the thickness of a human hair, yet it employs the same raw materials as traditional paper. The filmlike paper:
Is stronger than glass
- Can vary in weight and thickness from less than half that of tissue paper to that of drawing paper
- Doesn’t stretch, even when pulled
- Is being eyed as a replacement for the thin glass used in electronic devices
- Can be bent and folded into any shape.
In development since 2009, the transparent paper probably won’t reach the marketplace until 2016 at the earliest.
