This is PaperLab: Epson says it’s the world’s first recycling system to take waste paper and instantly transform it into new paper — onsite, in your office.
The Japanese company claims that the device can churn those reams of shredded paper in your cubicle’s overflowing recycle bin into brand new, crisp, white sheets, without using water. This is pretty nuts. Epson wants to eliminate the lengthy, laborious process of shipping those tossed documents externally to recycle. But with this new compact technology, Epson says it’s rolling out “an office-based paper cycle”.
A mere three minutes after loading the waste paper, PaperLab spits out a clean recycled sheet — all you have to do is press the start button. PaperLab can produce about 14 A4-sized sheets a minute, and 6720 sheets in a typical 9-to-5 day, the company says. Different sizes are available, too, and apparently business cards and even scented stationery are on the table.
Recycling paper onsite has another convenience: Extra security. Instead of slicing those top-secret sales briefs into ribbons, or hiring a contractor to dispose of them for you, this printer pulverises confidential documents into minuscule fibres.
It uses Epson’s “Dry Fibre” technology, as opposed to using water, as is standard in the recycling process. The printer turns scrap paper into tiny fibres, and then binds the fibres back together to form new paper.
A PaperLab prototype will debut next week at the Eco-Products 2015 conference in Tokyo. Epson hopes to have the printer in Japanese offices as early as next year, and will announce plans for selling in more countries down the line.
We look forward to an Australian release. It will probably be like that Mad Men episode when Sterling Cooper got a Xerox machine.
Image via Epson