As well as manufacturing the masks in-house for its employees, Epson says it will also donate 100,000 masks to local authorities and medical institutions where needs for personal protective equipment (PPE) have been expanding - and will also donate 5,600 face shields to the same organisations.

Epson says it does not plan to sell the masks it manufactures commercially, but the masks that it will now manufacture respond to growing demand for face masks for protection against the COVID-19 virus.

Epson’s PaperLab A-8000 in-office dry paper making system, is a dry-process* technology that enables the processing and creation of paper on-site, “in the amount you need and when you need it” - and the new masks will be made not from used paper but from functional fibres and will be manufactured at two of Epson’s production plants.

“This in turn will eliminate the need for Epson to outsource purchasing masks for its employees,” Epson said.