Office shredders: choosing the right one to protect you and your company
Tax time is a peak time for fraud and identity theft. Many types of documents, even seemingly innocuous ones, can provide enough information for thieves to inflict considerable damage. By learning (and practicing!) good shredding strategy, you can protect yourself, your company, and your peace of mind.
Choosing the right shredder involves selecting certain features, including:
Capacity – How many people will be using the shredder? How often? How much will they typically shred at one time? Different manufacturers have different ways of defining capacity, so check the page load limit, the recommended daily load, horsepower, speed, and other indications of power and duty load. In order to preserve the life of the shredder, choose shredders that have a slightly larger capacity than you will regularly require. Shredding often at maximum capacity or duty load will quickly wear down the machine.
Shred Cut – Different types of shred cuts yield different security levels. The smaller the cut, the higher the security level. A strip-cut shredder provides the lowest level of security, but may be sufficient for personal use and/or for information that is not highly sensitive. The smaller the width of the strip, the higher the security. A cross-cut shredder, which yields small squares usually around 1/8” in size, means higher security and is preferable for companies with sensitive information to protect. Again, the smaller the cut size, the higher the security it will provide. Micro-cut and other types of high-security shredders are available for the highest level of document sensitivity.
Additional Features – Do you need a CD/DVD/floppy disk slot for easy shredding of computer media? Do you want the ability to shred staples along with your pages? Need a certain noise limit? Want to easily manage paper jams and auto-feed? Most shredders have additional features like these to meet different needs. Once you determine capacity and security features, check on additional features to hone in on the optimal shredder for you and your organization.
Selecting the right shredder and maintaining good shredding practices are extremely important in today’s organization. If you would like additional information, please contact us and one of our dedicated Account Managers will be happy to assist you!
