This New Printer Is Also an In-Office Recycling System

Epson

Epson’s new printer, called the PaperLab, could be a real game changer. The company is calling it a “papermaking system”: It takes documents, shreds them, and produces new, clean sheets of paper. It’s your typical recycling system, minus the trip from the office to the collection facility, the trip from the collection facility to the recycling plant, the trip from the recycling plant to the papermaking facility, and the trip back to office.

Epson

Epson said in a press release that the printer is able to produce paper of various sizes and thicknesses, “from office paper and business card paper to paper that is colored and scented.”

Epson also reports that the process works without water. That means the newfangled printer cuts down on water use and on the carbon emissions normally used during the transportation phases of the recycling process.

Because the process breaks documents down into paper fibers, Epson says the system will completely destroy sensitive documents. This technology could prove enormously helpful for highly sensitive businesses that use huge volumes of paper—think law firms or government agencies.

The firm has yet to release a price for the system, but you can bet on this technology costing a fair bit of dough (Ars Technica guesses around $80,000 for the machine). Still, this is an exciting development for eco-friendly firms with some capital on hand.

Epson says the PaperLab will go into production in Japan in 2016, with other regions to follow.

(Via The Verge)