Most office workers are familiar with what a shredder is. Many people regularly use it in their work. This device facilitates the process of shredding and recycling documents, plastic cards, and more. Out-of-date documents or transactions are subject to destruction, which, after reading them, should not fall into the hands of fraudsters or third parties.
The shredder is used both in the office and at home. It is essential to choose shredders according to the scope of their purpose. Make sure to review the type of paper cutting, the level of secrecy, and the amount of paper to be destroyed. For information on how to choose a paper shredder for these and other parameters, keep reading below.
Home Paper Shredding
Pros: Perfect for those needing a shredder for their home business or home office. Best suited to occasional shredding needs. Ideal for keeping your home office clean and tidy.
Cons: If you are planning to do a lot of shredding, a home office shredder may also cause problems such as jamming or not being able to process staples or paperclips. A secure shredding service can easily take all of your personal or small business documents and for a lot less than you think!
Small Office Shredding
Pros: Often used for moderate shredding needs in a small office. This shredder includes more durable machines with added features. This shredder is often able to work between 10-30 minutes.
Cons: Depending on the amount of paper you need to shred, this may not be the solution for your office because you pay your staff to do important work, not stand around a shredder. This is why you should look into outsourcing to a secure shredding company.
Commercial Shredding
Pros: Used by businesses and companies looking to shred large amounts of paperwork and credit cards. This type of shredder is suitable for destroying large amounts of information quickly. They can run continuously and shred more than just paper.
Cons: The larger your business is, the more paper you are likely to generate. This means you will likely have a member of staff (or more than one) shredding documents for an entire shift. The other question worth asking is what to do with your shredded paper? It is too risky to put into a regular recycling bin or container. A shredding company can easily remove your documents and dispose of all shredded paper quickly and securely.
Industrial shredding
Most industrial shredders and heavy-duty paper shredders are packed with additional features, like LED keypads, automatic sensing, safety shutoff, cardboard shredder capability, and more. Government-approved industrial paper shredders meet NSA/CSS Specification 02-01 and intend to destroy sensitive documents in such a way that reconstruction is generally impossible.
When considering choosing your shredder take under consideration the following:
- Jam prevention – detects paper thickness and won’t allow a jam to occur.
- Wastebasket indicator – a signal lets you know when the shredder’s wastebasket is full and needs to be emptied, avoiding overflow.
- Safety lockout – some shredders have a safety lock for added safety that stops the blades when the shredder is plugged in.
- Energy-saving technology – it’s advisable to turn off your paper shredder when you aren’t using it, both for safety and to cut energy costs.
- Items you can use in a paper shredder – do not forget to ask what exactly can be shredded in the machine, so it suits your needs.
Remember to use security containers to make it impossible for passersby to retrieve documents that have been designated for destruction. This level of precaution prevents data breaches.
ATI Secure Docs consultants can help you plan a program to gather and destroy your records.