最終更新日: 2025年3月26日

LIMEX as paper alternative

LIMEX, which is mainly made of limestone, is a material that can be used as an alternative to paper. Compared to paper, LIMEX can reduce the amount of water used in factories per ton of sheet by approximately 94%. It can be used for various purposes such as packaging, business cards, booklets and table menus.LIMEX Sheet products are as easy to recycle, and there are many recycling cases. LIMEX Sheet products are combustible and can be incinerated, but we are working to recycle them as resources instead of disposing of them as waste.

*LIMEX Sheet products should not be mixed with waste paper collection in the same way as thermal paper such as receipts, carbon paper, sublimation transfer paper, thermal foam paper, synthetic paper, etc.

Amount of water used in factories

Note: These are calculated values for reference only, not guaranteed values. Values may change depending on the formulation, manufacturing conditions, and data acquisition status of each product.
(Source) Changes in new water use intensity per ton of paper and paperboard production: Japan Paper Association
(Source) Water usage at the Tohoku LIMEX factory divided by production volume: TBM survey, January 2025
*LIMEX Sheet: Product category with a thickness of 150μm or more

Features as an paper alternative

Save water and forest

The manufacturing process uses almost no water resources and does not use wood pulp, contributing to the conservation of resources that are at high risk of depletion.

Excellent durability and water-proof

Because it is more durable and water resistant than paper, it does not require lamination and is suitable for repeated use such as menus and maps.

High-quality texture and clear printing

It features a matte, high-quality texture and excellent color reproducibility.

Difference from stone paper

LIMEX is a composite material developed (patented) by TBM in Japan as an alternative to plastic and paper. There is a synthetic paper using limestone called Stone Paper developed by a Taiwanese manufacturer, but LIMEX has a different basic patent from Stone Paper.
In addition to extrusion molding used for printed matter and inflation molding used for packaging such as bags, we can also handle a variety of molding methods such as vacuum molding and injection molding as a material to replace plastic products. Stone paper is the name of an intermediate product developed by a Taiwanese manufacturer, and LIMEX is the name of the material, so the positions of the names are different in the manufacturing process.

material name	Intermediate product name	Usage	printed matter (business card)	vacuum molding (food container)	Injection molded product (smartphone case)	inflation (plastic bag)	Country of manufacture/Country of origin of limestone
LIMEX	LIMEX Pellet	plastic alternative	×	〇	〇	〇	Japan/Vietnam
LIMEX	LIMEX Sheet	paper alternative	〇	〇	〇	×	Japan/Vietnam
none	stone paper	paper alternative	〇	×	×	〇	Taiwan/China