Carbon paper

Carbon paper (originally carbonic paper) is paper coated on one side with a layer of a loose ink or pigmented coating.

Related Topics:
Paper - Ink

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Carbon paper is placed between the original and a blank sheet to be copied onto. As the user writes or types on the original, the depressions made cause the ink to be deposited on the blank sheet, thus creating a "carbon-copy" of the original document.

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Use of carbon paper has been mostly superseded because of electronic means such as photocopying. However, a carbonless copy paper is still used in situations where instant copies of written documents are needed. Examples of this are receipts at point of sale (though they have mostly been relegated to being backups for when electronic POS devices fail) or for on-the-spot fine notices.

Related Topics:
Photocopying - Carbonless copy paper - Point of sale

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