Make pulp slabs first, then feed a paper mill
To make hay paper in the documented Find The Needle progression, supply a powered pulper with hay and pumped water, then send its pulp slabs into a powered paper mill. The mill produces paper rolls, the finished item used by the recorded delivery order. Connecting the whole chain matters because raw hay alone is not the paper mill's documented input.
The official Find The Needle Steam page lists hay paper among its products. The detailed process below comes from player experience recordings; when checked November 3, 2026, the main game was still scheduled to enter Early Access November 6.
Set up the pulp stage before placing the mill
The upstream chain needs a borehole pump, water pipe, and hay pulper. Unlock their relevant plans, build them, and connect the pulper to both resources and power.
| Part of the line | What it supplies or receives |
|---|---|
| Borehole pump and water pipe | Water for the pulper |
| Incoming conveyor or feeding arm | Hay for the pulper |
| Hay pulper | Pulp slabs for the next stage |
| Paper mill | Receives pulp slabs and produces paper rolls |
| Outgoing conveyor | Carries rolls toward sale or delivery |
Test the pulper before expanding the factory. In player experience, a conveyor feeds hay more reliably than simply throwing a load at the machine. A robotic arm can automate the incoming hay route once you have confirmed the machine is producing slabs.
If the arm can pick up nearby products, restrict its collection choices appropriately. A recorded setup briefly sends eco bricks toward the pulper before the player changes the arm to collect from the hay pile.
Connect pulp output to the paper mill
Unlock the paper mill plan and leave enough space for the machine and both belt connections. A player recording specifically moves an existing conveyor structure to fit the mill, illustrating why checking the footprint before rebuilding the whole area helps.
- Place the paper mill beyond the pulper's output.
- Connect a conveyor carrying pulp slabs into the mill's intake.
- Provide power to the mill as well as the upstream equipment.
- Add an outgoing belt for finished paper rolls.
- Restart the line and follow the first slabs through processing.
In the documented recordings, the mill turns three pulp slabs into one paper roll. Treat that as the ratio described by those builds, then check the recipe shown in your version before planning an exact production balance.
Do not add a second pulper just because paper appears slowly. First establish whether the mill is waiting for slabs, missing electricity, or unable to clear its finished output. Those are different limits with different remedies.
Route paper rolls to the current objective
The completion recording uses paper rolls for a truck delivery requesting 10 rolls. It connects the mill's output toward the truck, watches rolls arrive, and manually loads a roll when the belt delivery is awkward. The same run associates that order with underground cable plans.
Those details describe player experience rather than an immutable delivery sequence. Read your current order, quantity, and reward before sending away production or buying upgrades for a specific target.
If you are selling paper instead, follow the first roll to the selling intake. Avoid assuming a recorded sale price is your guaranteed return: upgrades, build differences, and the rest of the line affect the player's result.
Check water and power when the chain stalls
A paper mill cannot compensate for an idle pulper. Trace the chain backward: is a roll blocked at the output, are slabs arriving, is the pulper receiving hay and water, and does the network have enough power?
Water connectors can also differ from older footage. In an October 13 community discussion, community reports describe side connections and changes that allow more flexible piping. Use your current connection preview rather than assuming the pipe must meet the exact top port shown in a video.
That thread's original poster ultimately attributed their own connection problem to an active cheat. It is a specific resolution, not a diagnosis for every stalled paper line.
FAQ
Does the paper mill take raw hay?
The documented process feeds it pulp slabs. Raw hay and pumped water go into the pulper first.
How many slabs make a paper roll?
The collected player recordings describe three slabs per roll. Check the recipe in your build before treating that ratio as current.
Does the paper mill need power?
Yes. The recorded chain powers both the pulper and the paper mill; a connected belt alone does not make either machine operate.
How many rolls does the truck need?
The documented run requests 10 paper rolls. Your current delivery screen is the reference for your own quantity and reward.