Efficient Printer Recycles Scrap Paper Right in the Office

We all have the occasional printer slip-up. But in an office, each person's mistakes add up, leading to a lot of paper waste. Hopefully, these discarded sheets will be put in the recycling bin—but there's never any guarantee they'll make it to a plant and find a new life as a napkin or trendy notebook. Epson's PaperLab renders the office recycling bin obsolete by reusing discarded paper, right then and there in the office.

According to the company, the so-called "office-based paper cycle" can take shredded paper and convert it into crisp, white sheets, which can then be fed right back to the printer.

Epson uses "Dry Fiber" technology, meaning the material is shredded down to tiny fibers, then bound back together again. And unlike standard recycling, the process requires no water. With what seems like technological witchcraft, the PaperLab can convert old paper into new in a mere three minutes, pumping out 14 A4-sized sheets a minute, and about 6720 sheets in a normal work day. Besides paper, the printer can also produce business cards and, in case you're hoping to give that memo a little extra flair, scented pages.

This futuristic printer is great for saving money on reams, as well as for beefing up security. Sensitive documents can be shredded down and melded into new sheets of paper in-house, away from prying eyes.

The product is unfortunately not yet available in the United States, although the prototype will be debuting in Tokyo at the Eco-Products 2015 conference next week.

[h/t: Gizmodo]