The PrePeat printer, a new product from Japanese company Sanwa Newtec, allows you to print on a page, erase it, and print again.

The new process makes use of special paper made from PET plastic. The paper is waterproof and crumple-resistant. The printer uses neither ink nor laser, but a thermal process. The thermal head can both erase the old printing and lay down the new page.

The first model, called the PrePeat SRP-3100, is Windows only. It holds 20 sheets and uses a parallel port only. It’s not clear what the speed is from the company specifications.

A good idea, but the cost right now is prohibitive. The product, available in Japan now, costs about $5,600 dollars, and each sheet of “paper” costs around $3. Even worse, you have to buy the media in lots of 1,000, meaning the whole initial investment would be near $10,000. That would pay for a hell of a lot recycled paper and toner, along with a half-dozen fast office printers.

It’s hard to imagine this product making it in the marketplace, but it may well be the prototype of a new printing direction.

Watch a video of the device in action here.

The company’s called PlanOn, and the new device is called the PrintStik. It’s being billed as “the world’s smallest mobile printer.”

The printer weighs a tenth of a pound and measures just 1″x2″x11″. It connects through Bluetooth to laptops and smartphones.

Does it make sense to buy one? It could be worthwhile for folks who spent a big chunk of their time on the road, especially salespeople who may need to print last minute changes to contracts or presentation materials. It shouldn’t print docs that need to last forever, though — PlanOn says the printouts will last for up to seven years.

The price isn’t bad, ranging from $199 to $349 for different models of the printer, with no ink or toner to buy. The thermal paper runs at $22 for a six-pack of 20-sheet cartridges.

Read more here.