Turning waste paper into new, in office

Seiko Epson Corporation has developed what it believes to be the world’s first compact office papermaking system, capable of producing new paper from securely shredded waste paper without the use of water. Epson plans to put the new “PaperLab” into commercial production in Japan in 2016, with sales in other regions to be decided at a later date. Businesses and government offices that install a PaperLab in a backyard area will be able to produce paper of various sizes, thicknesses and types, from office paper and business card paper to paper that is coloured and scented.

Ordinarily, paper is recycled in an extensive process that typically involves transporting waste paper from the office to a papermaking (recycling) facility. With PaperLab, Epson is looking to shorten and localise a new recycling process in the office.

Until now, enterprises had to hire contractors to handle the disposal of confidential documents or has shredded them themselves. With a PaperLab, however, enterprise will be able to safely dispose documents onsite, instead of handing them over to a contractor. PaperLab breaks documents down into paper fibers, so the information on them is completely destroyed.

PaperLab produces the first new sheet of paper in about three minutes of having loaded it with waste paper and pressing the start button. The system can produce about 14 A4 sheets per minute and 6,720 sheets in an eight-hour day.

Users can produce a variety of papers to meet their needs, from A4 and A3 office paper of various thicknesses to paper for business cards, colour and scented paper.

PaperLab makes paper without the use of water. Ordinarily, it takes about a cup of water to make a single A4 sheet of paper. Given that water is a precious global resource, Epson felt a dry process was needed.

In addition, recycling paper in the office shrinks and simplifies the recycling loop. Users can expect to purchase less new paper and reduce their transport CO2 emissions.