Printing boarding passes is sooooo 2005. Seriously, does anyone still print? My handy HP all-in-one printer collects more dust than print jobs. While it is true that most paper comes from managed forests, most of us just do not really have the need to print — a trend the paper industry, including the Paper and Packaging Board, whines about endlessly.
But sometimes we do need to print — for example, editing is easier for me to do on paper than staring at that laptop screen. And as an office tactic, distributing handouts at a meeting is a way to keep those rude colleagues’ eyes on the whiteboard and hands off their smartphones.
So, what if the office had printers that recycled shredded paper into new 8×10 or A4 sheets, creating a closed-loop recycling system within the office?
Epson, one of the world’s most popular printer manufacturers, is doing just that.
The venerable hardware manufacturer has developed what it describes as the “world’s first compact office papermaking system capable of producing new paper from securely shredded waste paper.” Christened the PaperLab, this new contraption, if successful, will replace the water cooler or Nespresso machine as the cool office place to hang out. The machines will start production in Japan next year.
Epson Paper Lab printer image credit Epson.
Read more at ENN Affiliate, TriplePundit.