Making paper

1 Shred scrap paper such as unwanted copy paper, old magazines and newspapers as finely as possible. An old blender gives the best results but the blade can become dulled. Scissors or hand tearing will produce the same result in a longer amount of time.

2 Soak shredded paper in a bucket of warm water to soften the fibers, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Water should completely cover the paper and should continue to soak until the paper has become mushy. If you want to dye the paper with food coloring, add a few drops at this point.

3 Drain the paper mix by straining out the water using a flat sieve and a bowl or sink to catch the water. Allow as much water as possible to drip from the paper mixture. Squeeze out additional moisture by pushing on the paper mix as it rests on the sieve.

4 Take a small amount of the paper mix and place it on a nonporous surface. A couple of handfuls of mix is enough to make one sheet of notepaper size.

5 Push down on the paper mix, molding it into a flatter and uniform rectangular shape. Be sure not to push too hard as you flatten out the paper mush. Small gaps increase as the paper dries and contracts. Use a flat nonporous object such as a spatula, rolling pin or a plastic ruler to make the paper mix as smooth as possible.

6 Add additional novelty to the paper at this time. Leaves or a petal pushed into the corners of the constructed page adds a nice detail.

7 Allow the paper to dry completely before gently peeling it away from the nonporous surface.

Categories

Material

• Paper
• glass
• metal
• fabric
• skin.....?? hmmmmm
• Aluminium
• Moulded Fiber
• Tin
• Foil
• Clay
• Wood
• Bamboo

Sub-Category: PAPER

• Cardboard
• Card
• Normal paper
• coated paper
• uncoated
• satin
• recycled- how much percentage?/ post consumer
  
• unbleached
• newsprint
• sugar paper
• tree free paper
• off white/ natural white paper
• FSC certified paper

Media

• Poster
• Calendar
• Leaflets
• Booklet
• Bins
• cutting mats
• guillotine
• notebooks
• packaging ( reusable )

Different types of packaging ?

Longevity

• Throw away straight after viewing/ use
• Calendar- a year?
• Reused as a functional item....unpredictable how long till consumer throw away

None-eco friendly ways of printing

• Varnishes: Mylar, UV Varnish, Polpropylene and Colleglaze are all much harder to strip out of paper at the recycling stage. Some laser sorters at recycling plants can even mistake gloss uv varnish for shiny plastic
• Solid Areas of ink : Large solid areas increase difficulty in the deinking process in larger volumes of toxic waste.
  
• Metallic Ink: harder to de-ink
• Petroleum (oil) based ink
• Dark blue, Dark purple and red colours : harder to de-ink that other colours, requiring additional chemicals and treatment.
• Plastic Binding
• Big Bleed areas
• Offset: Wastes water from dampening solution, part of lithographic process is tainted wit a high VOC count. Press and blanket roller washing solutions also contain harmful solvents which contain high VOC levels
• Solvent based glue
  

Greener ways to print....

• Soy Based Ink
• Water based ink
• Vegetable Based ink
• Water based Varnish
• Cellulose base Varnish
• as little number if ink as possible
  

They all can be cleaned from the press with water rather than solvents

• Metal Binding
• Water-less printing: no dampening solution, specialised inks and temperature controlled press are used. Images can be much crisper, as dot gained is lower and screen rulings can b higher. Quality levels are often reached faster, resulting in less wasted paper
• Digital Printing: uses no harmful chemicals to clean the machinery, and the inks used a less of a health wastage as there is no requirement to run the printer until desired quality level is reached
  
• Embossing: Blind embossing uses no ink and the metal die can be kept use o melted and reused for other embosses
• Die cutting uses no ink, and the knives in the die can be re-shaped to new dies easily
• water based gluess
• NO glue?

Sustainable Packaging - Material Alternatives

• Polylactide Acid (PLA) Plastics
• Bagasse (Sugar Cane Pulp)
• Palm Fiber
• Biomass Fiber Composite - AgroResin
• Reed Fiber - a Japanese Innovation
• PlasTerra - Biodegradable Plastic

(full article with images below...)

Polylactide Acid (PLA) Plastics

PLA is a transparent plastic made from natural resources (like
cornstarch). It can be processed as easily as petroleum-based plastics,
and can run on the same equipment. This makes it a very attainable
choice for those companies looking to change plastic components, like
thermoformed trays, to something more environmentally friendly. The
drawback is that it looks like ordinary plastic and if mixed with
recyclables, it can cause contamination, rendering the recyclable
plastic unusable. It can also be brittle at low temperatures, like
frozen foods.

Find out more about PLA plastics at NatureWorks and Mirel.

Bagasse (Sugar Cane Pulp)
Bagasse is a fibrous material
with a natural ivory color. When sugar cane is crushed to extract its
juice, what remains is bagasse. Bagasse is used to make insulated
disposable food containers, replacing materials such as Styrofoam.

You can learn more about bagasse on Wikipedia. Bagasse suppliers are primarily in Thailand and Malaysia.

Palm Fiber
Palm fiber is the leftover material
after the palm fruit is harvested for oil. This material is similar to
bagasse in that they're both used primarily to make packaging like
molded trays.

Earthcycle is a maker of FDA approved palm fiber trays. Visit their website to learn more.

Biomass Fiber Composite - AgroResin

AgroResin is a renewable and compostable material made from
agricultural biomass. It has a natural appearance, similar to palm
fiber packaging.

AgroResin® is made by PWP Industries (image shown above). This is another interesting alternative to petroleum-based plastic trays.

Reed Fiber - a Japanese Innovation
Reeds grow quickly.
They can be composted and return to a crop-soil-cycle. Also, grown on
the shore or riverbanks, reed doesn't compete for acreage with food
crops - as do plants grown for biodiesel. This material is from Japan
and is made from 100% reed fiber.

Made by Japanese manufacturer, Masuki (website in Japanese).

PlasTerra - Biodegradable Plastic
PlasTerra™ is a biodegradable and compostable plastic made using a blend of various
commercially available bioresins. Includes starch, PLA, and other fillers.

Download the PlasTerra data sheet.

PlasTerra may be offered by your usual plastic thermoformer (disposable trays). Plastic thermoforming companies like TrayPak, recommended this as a possible alternative to PLA, which can be brittle in frozen use settings.