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A guide to
choosing the right Shredder
Why
use a shredder?
The fastest
growing consumer fraud is identity fraud.
Identity fraud happens when a thief creates
a "credit clone" of you using your personal
information. Identity fraud is easy for
perpetrators to commit. These criminals are
seldom caught and reversing the damage is
difficult.
What are the different types of shredders?
Shredders come in all sizes, speeds, and
capacities, but there are three basic
choices:
Desk-side Shredders
- are entry level shredders, which are
used at homes and offices and are quite
compact. They are light and portable and
can be easily hoisted onto a table for
ease of operation. These shredders,
depending on the model can easily shred
anywhere between three to eight pieces
of paper at a time and are not meant for
heavy use.
Departmental -
Larger facilities with more documents to
dispose of, may install centrally based
shredders that can handle 20-50 sheets
at a time.
Industrial Shredders -
are made for high volume shredding and can
handle anywhere from 11 to 450 sheets of paper
at a time. These shredders are manufactured for
continuous daily use and are usually used by big
companies or ones that handle outsourced
shredding. These shredders are quite compact and
can easily transform a bail of paper into
shredded paper resembling a bail of hay.
Soft Media: Handles - Paper, Cardboard,
X-rays, Microfiche
Industrial: Handles - Paper, Cardboard,
X-rays, Microfiche, Magnetic Tape, CD ROMs, DVDs
and HDD's, Floppy Discs, Credit Cards, ID
badges, Circuit Boards, Cell Phones, PDA's
What will you be shredding?
There are
many different types of shredders, and which
shredder best meets your needs. Several of
the items to consider are;
How sensitive is the
material you need to shred?
Shredders cut paper into smaller, unrecognizable
pieces of paper. Different shredders shred paper
into different sizes of paper. The more
important the document, the more important it is
to use a shredder that will shred the documents
into very small pieces.
What type of paper will
you be shredding?
Paper comes in many different forms. Some paper
is thicker and other paper is thinner, some
paper is glossy and other sheets of paper are
coarse. You will want to be sure your shredder
can handle the paper you will be shredding.
How often will you need
to use your shredder?
You will need to take into consideration how
often you will be using your paper shredder.
Some paper shredders are made only for shredding
documents a few times per week, where other
shredders can be used continuously. Purchasing a
shredder that cannot handle the volume of
shredding you need can be very frustrating.
Would you like one large
shredder, or several smaller shredders?
Some offices will buy one large shredder for all
their shredding needs, where other offices will
purchase several smaller shredders and place
them throughout the office.
How many sheets do you
need to shred at a time?
Different shredders can shred different amounts
of paper. Smaller shredders can only handle a
few sheets of paper, where larger shredders can
shred many sheets of paper at a time. Strip cut
shredders can always shred more paper at a time
than a cross cut shredder.
What size of paper do
you need to shred?
Some shredders are designed to shred small
letters, where other shredders can shred
newspapers and phone books. You will want to
take into consideration what you will need to
shred now and what you will be shredding in the
future.
Is space/mobility an
issue?
Shredders can be very large and heavy. If you
need to take a shredder from one office to
another, you may want to get a lighter shredder
or one with mobile casters. If space is an
issue, you may want to consider a thinner
shredder that can fit into a tight space.
What are the different
kinds of shredding/security?
Shred Particle Security Levels
Security Level 1
Designed for shredding general records, internal
documents, and documents that need to be
illegible after they expire.
Measurement (10.5mm Strip Cut) (11.8mm Strip
Cut) (10.5mm x 40-80mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 2
Designed for the shredding of internal/in-house
documents. For shredding documents such as
computer printouts or poor quality photocopies.
Measurement (3.9mm Strip Cut) (5.8mm Strip Cut)
(7.5mm x 40-80mm)
Security Level 3
Designed for shredding confidential documents
and personal data.
Measurement (1.9mm Strip Cut) (3.9mm x 30-50mm
Cross Cut)
Security Level 4
Designed for shredding secret documents and more
sensitive information. Can be used by companies
to shred confidential documents/Media.
Measurement (1.9mm x 15mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 5
Ideal for high-security requirements.
Measurement (0.78mm x 11mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 6
This is the highest level of shredder security
currently available. Very secure shredding for
the most sensitive documents/Media.
Measurement (1mm x 4-5mm)
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