Paper Baler: Choosing the Right Machine for High Grades, Office Paper, and Newsprint

By Hoosier Machinery Solutions – Wanatah, IN – July 6, 2026 – 8 min read

HMS sells new Balemaster and Excel paper balers, refurbishes all major brands, and is not tied to one solution. Call (219) 733-2108.

Paper is one of the most valuable recycling commodities and one of the most varied. A bale of sorted white ledger is worth far more per ton than mixed paper, and the difference between capturing that value and losing it often comes down to the baler you run and how cleanly it produces bales by grade. Printers, paper mills, document destruction operations, and recycling facilities all generate paper worth baling. HMS sells new Balemaster and Excel paper balers, refurbishes machines from all major brands, and installs and services every machine with our own team. We are not tied to one manufacturer – we recommend the baler that fits your paper stream and floor plan.

The Paper Grades That Get Baled

Unlike corrugated which is essentially one commodity (OCC), paper spans a wide range of grades with very different values. High grades and sorted white ledger: the most valuable – clean sorted office paper, white ledger, and computer printout command the highest prices per ton. Office paper and mixed office waste: common in office buildings and document operations, lower value than sorted high grades but worthwhile when baled cleanly. Newsprint and news: generated by printers, publishers, and recyclers, consistent and predictable. Magazine and coated stock: heavier coated papers that bale densely. Shredded paper: from document destruction and office shredding, loose and lightweight which makes it harder to bale cleanly. Mixed paper: the catch-all lowest grade, which is exactly why keeping higher grades out of it matters.

The single most important thing about baling paper: grade value varies dramatically. Sorted white ledger can be worth several times what mixed paper brings. A bale contaminated with lower grades gets downgraded to the lowest grade it contains. That makes clean, grade-separated baling far more important for paper than for OCC.

Which Paper Baler Fits Your Operation

Low volume: vertical baler. For small print shops and operations generating modest paper volume. Compact footprint, simple operation, manually-tied bales. Well suited where paper is a steady but secondary stream and floor space is limited.

Moderate to high volume: horizontal auto-tie baler, Balemaster E-Series. For printers, paper converters, and recyclers generating consistent paper volume. The E-Series is exceptionally well suited to paper – it was built for this application. The automatic tie cycle eliminates hand-tying labor and continuous feed lets one operator manage high volumes while producing clean, dense, grade-separated bales. The most common paper baler at printing operations and paper recyclers.

High volume: horizontal auto-tie baler, Balemaster EO-Series. For large printers, paper mills, and high-throughput recyclers. Oversized hopper and larger bales. The bigger bale chamber and higher ram thrust produce heavier denser paper bales that maximize freight efficiency and mill value.

Tougher to bale: Excel 2R63D two-ram or EX63 horizontal. Some paper streams are harder to bale – mixed, bulky, or difficult material that does not feed cleanly through a standard paper baler. For these tougher-to-bale waste paper applications, some operations use an Excel 2R63D two-ram baler or an Excel EX63 horizontal baler. The 2R63D brings full platen penetration and two-ram flexibility in a compact footprint; the EX63 offers a closed-end horizontal design that handles demanding material well. HMS carries both.

Balemaster Paper Balers: E-Series and EO-Series

HMS is an authorized Balemaster dealer. Balemaster is based in Crown Point, Indiana, about 30 miles from HMS’s Wanatah facility.

Balemaster E-Series: the Balemaster line most associated with paper. Produces a 30-inch wide bale, purpose-built for the consistent paper and high-grade material that printers, paper converters, envelope plants, and document operations generate. Horsepower 20HP to 150HP. On paper grades, E-Series machines produce bale weights from roughly 1,100 pounds on lighter grades up to 1,900 pounds on magazine and heavier stock, at densities from about 28 to 38 pounds per cubic foot depending on grade. Model number encodes throughput – adding a zero gives cubic feet per hour dry capacity, so an E-710 moves 7,100 cubic feet per hour. The best Balemaster choice for shredded paper applications.

Balemaster EO-Series: oversized hopper producing larger bales up to 48 inches wide by 40 inches tall for high-volume paper operations. Feed chutes up to 75 inches long, cylinder options 8 inches to 12 inches for maximum bale density. For large printing operations, paper mills, and high-throughput recyclers, produces heavier denser bales that maximize mill value and freight economics.

Balemaster model number system: add a zero to get cubic feet per hour of dry throughput. An E-980 moves 9,800 cubic feet per hour; an EO-1760 moves 17,600.

Why Grade Separation Maximizes Your Revenue

A contaminated bale drops to its lowest grade – mix sorted white ledger with newsprint and mixed paper and the whole bale gets priced as the lowest grade present, losing the premium value of the high grade. Consistency builds mill relationships – mills pay better and buy more reliably from operations delivering consistent, clean, properly graded bales. Bale weight and density still matter – heavier denser bales mean more material per truckload, fewer pickups, and better freight economics. With paper, the baler is part of how you protect the value of a varied, high-value commodity.

Who Buys Paper Balers

Commercial printers and print shops generate paper trim, makeready waste, and off-spec stock – the E-Series is the classic fit, tougher streams sometimes call for an Excel 2R63D or EX63. Paper mills and converters generate high volumes of trim, broke, and process waste – high-volume EO-Series machines handle the throughput. Document destruction and shredding operations generate shredded paper that bales best on a Balemaster E-Series. Office buildings and business parks generate office paper and high grades worth baling cleanly. Paper recyclers and MRFs process multiple paper grades. Mailing houses and envelope plants generate consistent paper waste well suited to E-Series baling.

What a Paper Baler Costs

Vertical baler: $15,000 to $40,000 new, $8,000 to $20,000 refurbished, for small print shops and low volume. Horizontal closed-door or manual-tie: $100,000 to $180,000 new, $50,000 to $90,000 refurbished, for lower-volume paper operations. Horizontal auto-tie: $185,000 to $300,000 new, $95,000 to $125,000 refurbished, for printers, converters, recyclers. Two-ram: $240,000 to $400,000+ new, $125,000 to $400,000 refurbished, for tougher-to-bale or mixed paper. Financing available with approvals in as little as 24 hours. New equipment qualifies for Section 179 tax deduction.

One Dealer, Not One Solution

HMS is not locked into a single product line. Many dealers sell one manufacturer and recommend that machine for every situation because it is the only thing they carry. With access to multiple product lines and our own refurbishing shop, HMS is free to recommend whatever genuinely fits – new or rebuilt, one brand or another. The best machine for a paper operation is the one matched to your throughput and bale requirements, and HMS is not boxed into a single answer. HMS sells, installs, and services every machine with our own team – one company, accountable from the recommendation through installation and for the life of the machine.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best baler for paper?

It depends on volume and grades. For printers, paper converters, and moderate-volume operations, a Balemaster E-Series horizontal auto-tie baler is an excellent fit, widely used for high grades, office paper, and newsprint. Higher-volume operations benefit from the larger EO-Series. Some operations use an Excel 2R63D two-ram or EX63 horizontal baler for tougher-to-bale waste paper. HMS sells, installs, and services all of these.

How much does a paper baler cost?

New horizontal auto-tie balers range from $185,000 to $300,000. Refurbished horizontal auto-tie balers from HMS run $95,000 to $125,000. Refurbished horizontal manual-tie and closed-door balers run $50,000 to $90,000. Vertical balers for very low volume start around $15,000 to $40,000.

Why does paper grade separation matter when baling?

Paper grades vary significantly in commodity value. Sorted white ledger and other high grades are worth substantially more per ton than mixed paper or newsprint. Keeping grades separated and baling them cleanly preserves that value – a contaminated or mixed-grade bale gets downgraded to the lowest grade it contains.

What baler is best for shredded paper?

Shredded paper is loose and behaves differently than whole sheets, which makes it harder to bale cleanly. The Balemaster E-Series is typically the best choice for shredded paper applications. HMS can help operations baling shredded paper from document destruction or office settings spec the right machine.

Bottom Line

Paper is a high-value, highly varied commodity and the baler you run determines how much of that value you capture. For most printers, converters, and recyclers a Balemaster E-Series is the natural fit. High-volume operations step up to the EO-Series. Tougher paper streams sometimes call for an Excel 2R63D or EX63. Clean, dense, grade-separated baling protects the premium value of high grades and maximizes revenue per ton. HMS sells, installs, and services all of these – and because we carry multiple lines, we recommend the one that fits your operation rather than the one we are tied to. Call (219) 733-2108. Hoosier Machinery Solutions, 9450 W. US Highway 30, Wanatah, IN 46390.