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Epson’s PaperLab recycles used paper, destroying it down to the fibers, and is able to manufacture new sheets with a much better environmental record than the traditional paper recycling industry. Of course, we were interested.
The PaperLab A-8000, a machine to “upcycle” used paper to create new sheets. © Epson
On Digital, we love tech, but are generally wary of tech solutionism. Except of course when the solutions in question tick a lot of boxes and are really relevant, especially from an ecological point of view. This is the case of Epson’s PaperLab A-8000, a machine that destroys paper before remaking it, on demand.
Currently, the Japanese group is marketing the second generation of PaperLab, whose history dates back to 2015, when its engineers focused on paper recycling. The company files 5,000 patents a year and invests 1.2 million euros every day in R&D on the circular and sustainable economy, which allows it to imagine a whole host of concepts, including the recycling of used paper to create ink collection pads installed in printers.
To do this, an industrial paper defibration process was set up, the fibers then being recompacted in a press to create an absorbent material (like a blotter) one cm thick: the tampon. Following these operations, and on the basis of this well-established process, engineers imagined being able to recreate paper altogether by improving the technique using a binder (called Paper Plus) and a press. In fact, Epson engineers were able to patent a concept that is primarily applied to paper, but can also be adapted to other natural or man-made materials such as wood, cardboard, fabrics, and which simply consists of reducing them to elementary fibers before recreating something new.
Miracle solution ?
In its operation, the PaperLab has almost everything of a miracle solution. A drastic reduction in water consumption compared to industrial recycling (96% less); very little waste; much better electricity consumption than for traditional recycling; savings in CO2 equivalent and, on an average cycle of use of the machine for one year, between 100 and 150 trees which will not have to be cut.
“There are simply 10 liters of water in the machine which serve to stabilize the hygrometry and avoid having fibers that are too volatile and dusty, water which is recycled and which must be changed once a week. The inks are separated and removed from the upcycled paper and can be reprocessed properly. And we will thus be able to recycle a sheet at most eight times to make new ones. Beyond that, the fibers become too short and go to waste, under the form of a kind of very fine talc”explains Thierry Bagnaschino, marketing director at Epson.
Thierry Bagnaschino, Marketing Director © Epson
We can’t resist the temptation to ask him about the interest of such a machine, as impressive as it is, in a world where everything is dematerialized at high speed. Is the PaperLab coming too late, or is our view of writing that uses very little paper biased? “As individuals, we are printing less, although we have seen the interest in personal printers during the pandemic, with sales booming. the paper remains obligatoryhe replies before adding: “There are also cultural differences. Japan is famous for being drowned in paper, even though it is a very technology-oriented country. In sectors such as banking, administration, ministries , schools, large notarial firms, paper is still everywhere and there is better to do than throw it in the recycling, when it comes to the good trash”.
total destruction
Another argument put forward by the marketing director: the P7-certified document destruction technology (the highest existing), so that a page buried in the PaperLab will never be able to reveal its secrets. From this angle, the PaperLab is equivalent to an incineration, and proves to be much safer than the paper shredders which cut it into thin strips. In some professions covered by the product, this matters.
But then, what are the obstacles to the adoption of such a solution? They are not so many, but difficult to overcome. The PaperLab is quite expensive, takes up a lot of space and requires employees to adopt a few new habits.
On the price side, the technology is still nascent and exclusive, which partly justifies a high monthly cost. The PaperLab is marketed with a contract relating to the number of pages, like a copier, and costs on average just under €10,000 per month knowing that there is a 7-year commitment. If inflation tends to improve the economic balance sheet of the machine, it is still more expensive than buying paper in reams. However, the price is not the driving force of the first buyers who also see it – and above all – as an ecological gesture (and also a means of doing green communication).
“You should still know that a P7 standard paper destruction machine is worth 25,000 euros, and that the PaperLab provides the capacity for 5 to 10 machines of this type, for example”, tempers Thierry Bagnaschino, who specifies that PaperLab’s rent includes delivery, assembly, maintenance, fiber bonding consumables, warranty and staff training. And then we save money. “If you need three A3 sheets on a pink background, you can create them on demand, no need to buy a ream. We can produce up to 720 A4 sheets per hour [la première sort en 3 minutes, NDLR] and several thicknesses are possible”he adds.
Because yes, each structure where the PaperLab is installed will designate one or two people responsible for its operation, but also for the collection of paper “in the floors”, which must be done by following certain rules: the paper must not be thrown into a ball, not torn or bound with paper clips or staples. For safety, closed recovery boxes can of course be installed. But there are new habits to adopt.
An imposing machine
As for the size of the machine, it is… massive. “Smaller versions are on the drawing boards. Downsizing is one of our main goals because we know it’s a problem”promises Thierry Bagnaschino, who tells us an anecdote with a smile. “In Europe, there are currently only two copies of the PaperLab in operation, one at an Italian fashion designer very focused on ecology, the other at the Ministry of the Environment in Madrid. In Italy, the PaperLab has been installed in the huge reception hall of the company. But in Spain, the ministry is installed in an old building with small openings. The space allocated to the PaperLab has been found, but the entrance door to this room is quite small. We really thought that we were going to have to give up the project, and we really had to take the machine apart as much as possible to manage to fit it in just in time.”.