ViaStone: Biodegradable Paper Made From Stone

Wow. That's a really unique innovation. I want to know who had the brainstorm, "Hey! We should start writing on stone again!"
But is rock recyclable at all?

"Stone based papers is more benign than the process of producing conventional photo printing paper." - I'm not familiar with either process, but I find that very hard to believe. After all, cement production is a major source of green house gases because of the huge amount of energy required to turn solid rock into fine powder. Do you actually know if your statement is a fact, or are you just repeating a claim made by the paper makers PR department?

Don,

Apparently the source of the carbonate used in the paper is a waste byproduct of other manufacturing processes. Please explain which method of producing photographic paper you comparing it to.

would composting this with pet waste (for the ornamental crops) have any benefit?

Ironically (I think...could be simply coincidentally) I read an article in the NYTimes about young children in south Africa spending their days in stone quarries, pounding rocks into powder to sell to builders for use in concrete. The huge amount of energy in that case is generated by huge amounts of poverty and emits few greenhouse gases, but a lot of sadness.

TH has an earlier post on "rock paper" which is made in China, possibly on a similar process. Here is the link: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/rock_paperwater.php

As inferred by another commenter, the calcium carbonate might be a chemical precipitate, a byproduct of another industrial process so it would be finely divided enough.

The resin used to hold rock paper together was reported to be virgin polyethylene. Then there were various proprietary formulations of coatings to admit and hold printing inks and make it water resistant, etc. If this material is made similarly, mfg is on the same sort of equipment used to make plastic films.

My concern is that there are biodegradation parallels to the legendary "green trash bag" issue. The manufacturers will have to establish whether the polymer resins actually biodgrade or whether they just become particulates in groundwater.

This sounds really great! What methods are used to break down the rock to fine powder and would this fine powder be damaging in some way to the invironment. Could you send me a sample and price list? Can it be used for all the same uses as tree paper?
I would like to market this item.
Kind regards, Therese
My address is C/Miguel Rossello i Alemany 39 6R
Palma de Mallorca 07015
Islas Baleares
Spain

I saw this for the first time today at Office Max but am concerned as no mention of the life of the printed photos. Will they last as long as the HP ink and paper I have now before fading? Is it archival and acid free? I need to poke around some more. I do very much like the matte finish-I refuse to buy that glossy stuff I see all the time so I have a stash of what I like.

Yes! Stone paper is great. FiberStone™ (naturalsourceprinting.com) is what you should be looking for. It has a beautifully smooth, white finish and is an eco friendly paper.

Yes! Stone paper is great. FiberStone™ (naturalsourceprinting.com) is what you should be looking for. It has a beautifully smooth, white finish and is an eco friendly paper.

I tested some of this paper, it prints nice, but when I went to test the acid-free claims with a simple PH pen, it registered as very acidic. I contacted the company and they told me they had not tested it. Buyer beware!

I know this a stone paper, tested it, printed on it and have the results of it....the world is about to change!!!! I am a print expert with over 25 years of printing experience, owning and operating my own company on both sides of the Atlantic. I am a distributor of the most unbelievable invention since pancakes....

Has anyone considered the fact that traditional paper comes from a renewable resource (trees) while this comes from stone? Stone is a non-renwable resource, so I dno't know how this could be considered better for the earth. Just my two cents.

To answer your inquiries about the quality and how this paper works, I can tell you first hand that this paper is tremendous. We currently print a luxury resort magazine using this paper, which is tree-free, water-free, chemical-free, and generates zero hazardous material. Further, and most importantly to us, is that the paper is 100% waterproof, which makes it a great solution for resorts, spas, cruise lines, and ski resorts. The finish product is beautiful and is very durable. You can request samples from me.

i saw this in the store some months back and i thought it was some kind of joke, later on, i thought i had imagined the whole thing! i finally googled and came here. thats the paper i saw, i cant wait to try it and would love to see how its made.

An interesting Stone Paper Bag article.

Also supplied as Promotional Stone Paper Bags for marketing purposes.

Stone paper is NOT biodegradable! But it is awesome- check out www.naturalsourceprinting.com/fiberstone.

this paper does not work with my HP printer at home... other papers work fine but it seems to have trouble gripping the paper. it is somewhat matte on the front, yet the back is some what shiny (and had their logo printed as well). the printer can feed the paper in, yet once the printing starts it stays put vs. moving fowrad with each live printed.

i wish this could work out as i love the concept of the paper.

BEWARE!

As you may know, FiberStone also sometimes called Stone Paper, Rock Paper, or Paper Stone:
- is NOT BIODEGRADABLE or Compostable
- is PLASTIC-based. It is made with High-Density PolyEthylene(HDPE). This is a polyethylene thermoplastic made from petroleum.
- To be recycled it must be separated into recycling of SPI Resin Code #2 (same category of grocery bags which are no longer permitted in some environmentally conscious cities, e.g., San Francisco)
- There is extremely limited practical possibility that FiberStone is ever recycled.
- Most HDPE is produced in China

This stuff AIN'T GOOD for the earth.