Seiko Epson has developed what it believes to be is the world’s first compact office papermaking system using waste paper, but not water.
The PaperLab will begin commercial production in Japan this year and will be released worldwide at a later date.
Offices that install a PaperLab machine will be able to produce papers of various thicknesses and types from waste office paper, business cards and even coloured and scented papers.
The new machine will enable companies to use the dry recycling system to process waste paper, while also producing new paper.
As a result, it will mean that companies will not need the paper to be collected, sent to a recycling mill and then turned into new paper to be sold back to them.
PaperLab will also enable companies to instantly destroy confidential documents without needing to hand the paper over to a contractor.
It will take the machine about three minutes to create new paper from waste material and will produce 14 sheets of A4 paper per minute, or 6,720 sheets in an eight hour day.
Ordinarily, it would take a cup of water to create a single sheet of A4 paper, but Epson has developed a dry recycling process that does not use any water.
A variety of binders can be added to the fiberised material to increase the binding strength or whiteness of the paper. They can also be added for colour, fragrance, flame resistance or other properties.
Seiko Epson has said the machine will work well with its range of printers under the Epson brand.
