Läufer Translucent
Crisis-proof: eraser put to the acid test
1/11/2022
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Unless you’re turning a blind eye to the signs of the times, you’ll see without a doubt: electronics were yesterday. The future belongs to all things offline. And the 11710 Transluzent eraser marks the beginning of this new era.
Why do people struggle to accept reality? After all, it’s perfectly obvious. The age of electronics is over. The devices can’t even be produced in the first place. Energy’s becoming scarce and expensive and may even black out altogether. Power banks? Nothing but a band aid solution. What we need is technology that’s adapted to these new conditions. Advanced technologies that require neither electricity nor electronics. Technologies such as erasers.
Eraser technology broken down
As erasers are largely unknown in tech circles, here’s a brief introduction. Erasers, or rubbers in some parts of the world, are physical objects that serve a similar purpose as the delete key. Drawings or writing can be undone with them. The tools are made of natural rubber or polymeric plastic in newer models.
Erasers aren't compatible with conventional devices such as PCs or smartphones. Instead, they require special display devices tailored to the post-electronic age – think paper or cardboard in combination with a pen as an input device. Furthermore, they don’t rely on electricity or old-fashioned silicon chips either, thereby providing powerless ecosystem suitable for the 21st century. Almost all pens and paper types are fully compatible.
Although eraser technology is cutting-edge, it’s existed for a long time, which also makes it well researched and proven. Long forgotten are the times when erasers were indeed common. In fact, the Läufer company began mass-producing as far back as 1922. This means the Läufer eraser is celebrating 100 years of existence, but is keeping a low profile. The anniversary is going largely unnoticed by the general public. Although the manufacturer has proudly printed «Quality since 1922» on the packaging, it doesn’t seem to be in the mood for celebrating. This could be because Läufer & Gutenberg went bankrupt around ten years ago. The company’s since continued under the name Gutenberg without the eraser name.
Now, the eraser is experiencing a renaissance.
Läufer Transluzent 11710
The spirit of optimism in the eraser industry really comes through in the Transluzent 11710. The colourful and cheerful shades really set themselves apart from the drab grey of earlier models including the Läufer Plast 0140. Unlike the models made of natural rubber, such as the Runner Universal 0440, hot in demand with hipsters, it stays like new and supple for an almost unlimited period of time.
Unboxing and first impressions
Unboxing was an unspectacular affair, as the Transluzent 11710 is free of any box. At least in offline retail. And that’s where people will be shopping in the electronics-free future. There, erasers just sit naked on store shelves. This has two advantages. Firstly, no one will be tempted to post a boring – not to mention energy-consuming – excruciatingly long unboxing video on YouTube. And secondly, zero waste. Now that’s proof of how advanced erasers can be!
Transluzent is more than just a lofty word. The erasers of the same name also look the part. The colour palette is undoubtedly a nod to another milestone of the powerless, semiconducting office, namely Stabilo Boss. The colourful Läufer erasers also remind me a bit of jelly candies. However, tastewise, they don’t deliver.
But they do rest comfortably in your hand. Slightly rough, which I find pleasant. They’re dry to the touch and non-slip and don’t feel like a slippery fish.
Weight and dimensions
The Transluzent 11710 weighs 15 grammes and measures 48 × 28.5 × 11.5 millimetres. These specifications are independent of the colour. The deviation per unit is less than 0.1 per cent. However, both the weight and dimensions decrease with regular use. In theory, the eraser can erase itself from the face of the world, but in practice this hardly ever happens. After all, nobody appreciates working with a 1 × 1 × 1-millimetre eraser.
The upper, shorter side is about 38 millimetres long, the slanted side 15 millimetres. And we’re not talking ten millimetres; after all, a right triangle is all about a² + b² = c². So 100 + 132 = 232, and the square root of 232 is about 15. Figure out the volume yourself, I’m done with geometry for today.
Use
The Läufer Transluzent 11710 has an impressively simple and very intuitive operating concept. You hold it and use it like a pen. Except that it doesn’t write but erase. You won’t be able to work as precisely with it, either. But you won’t have to. The corners make up for this by enabling very accurate correcting. Compared to conventional models, the Transluzent 11710 impresses with its bevelled tip. This stops the corners from prematurely losing their edge.
Erasing power
The Transluzent 11710 erases pencil quickly and with little abrasion. This seems to be the case regardless of the pencil’s degree of hardness. I tested the hardness degrees 2H, H, HB and 2B. All of them left a visible trace after being erased. However, the trace was so weak that any digital native would perceive the font as being greyed out and thus inactive.
Coloured pencil is tougher to erase. Although the error, or «Fehler», which I wrote in German to sound clever, fades, a clearly visible residue remains. Ballpoint pen is a lot harder to get rid of. All the eraser manages is to make the writing a bit lighter.
Having said that, the manufacturer never claimed the Transluzent 11710 could erase ballpoint pen. Unlike with the Runner Plast-Combi 0720. However, that one’s not much better at removing ballpoint pen marks than the Transluzent. What’s more, it distributes eraser shavings on the paper. This is not the case with the Transluzent, where the shavings remains in one piece and can be removed without any problems.
Erasers are generally not suitable for correcting ballpoint pen or ink. Fortunately, there’s a power- and semiconductor-free technology for this: so-called Tipp-Ex or whiteout.
Ultimately, the Transluzent 11710 lives up to its promise: to erase pencil and coloured pencil. It focuses on the areas of use an eraser is best at. That’s honest and impressive.
Verdict: herald of a better world
True innovations still exist. Those technological leaps we all dream of. Holding a test device in my hands has rarely felt this futuristic and groundbreaking. The Transluzent 11710 runner marks the dawn of a new era. An era in which we’ve cut ties with electricity, firmware updates, fragile supply chains and other dependencies. And in which we’re kinder to the environment to boot. No doubt, this is huge. And despite its revolutionary technology, the eraser offers sophisticated operation and reliable performance. With its ergonomics, translucency and the incredible rubbing feel it offers, it has what it takes to win over the most tenacious eraser naysayers. Its resource-saving overall concept is also reflected in the extremely affordable price. What more could you ask for?
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.