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Fresh Press is a research lab,
and we look at how different kinds
of plant fibers can be used for
making paper products.
I'm Steve Costello; I teach Art + Design.
I'm Eric Benson, and I teach graphic design.
We really consider ourselves the
microbrewery of paper. We source
materials as they're available based on their seasonal
production. we go into the farm or into the
fields and harvest by hand. The cooking we do
and the chipping of the fiber we do is all done
um, the traditional
garden chippers,
stock pots, and they're are also beaten here and in a
2 pound ***. Yielding approximately, what, 50 sheets
per 2 pound batch of fiber.
So we've developed paper blends from corn, soybeans,
rye, miscanthus, prairie grasses like big blue stems,
switchgrass
Currently, our handmade paper is used mostly for handmade purposes, like stationary
handbills, and posters, but we're really interested in developing these fibers
beyond just sheet form paper, such as lamination,
corrugation, injection molding, packaging
configurations, or other types the uses such as blown insulation.
We're really interested in changing the system
of paper making. Currently the system is based on
harvesting trees.
We find that to be a very
environmentally unfriendly method
of paper making.
We're also looking at trying to create a regional economy based on
local fibers. Farmers can grow these crops
sell the food portion of the crop, and also sell
what would be considered waste.
Using that existing
stream of fiber to produce paper
will be a lot more socially
and environmentally
friendly way of
stewarding the land.