Circa 2017

Lasers that ‘softly’ burn paper could be the next evolution in printing. Former students of the University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands, have developed a technology that can print on any kind of paper without consumables, such as toner or ink.

This technique is not unlike burning paper using a magnifying glass and sunlight.

The same principle has been created in a laboratory using an infra-red laser ray, which passes through the set of special lenses and burns the paper, printing black carbon dots.