Guide to Choosing the Right Office Shredder

Every office needs a fit for purpose shredder. Are you disposing of documentation correctly? If you are a large or small company Low Cost Office has the right shredder for the right job. Shredding documents ensures GDPR compliance and guarantees confidential data is destroyed properly. However, with so many options available, it can be hard to find the best one to suit your business’ needs.

Buying unsuitable equipment can leave your business’ data exposed, delay other tasks and increase your cost when you end up having to replace a device that is not fit for purpose. Get it right the first time with our helpful guide:

Functionalities

The first thing you need to consider is how often you are going to be using the device and how many people will have access to the device. A large team sharing one shredder machine will need it to run more frequently which means a bigger bin capacity and throat capacity is required.

Throat Capacity: refers to how many sheets can be inserted into the device at a time. Selecting a device with a large throat capacity means the user can shred a lot more documents in a lot less time. Do your documents tend to be stapled? Take this into consideration when buying a device. Don’t assume all shredders will be able to shred paper staples.

Run Time: Modern shredders will have a “cool down” system so if you plan on having the device running for long periods at a time then you need to make sure the device meets your expectations. The range can go from equipment that can run for five minutes and need a fifteen minute cool down, to equipment that can run continuously.

Bin Capacity: The bigger the capacity to hold the shredded document, the fewer times it will need to be emptied. Don’t overfill a bin as this can lead to damage of the device and the shredding mechanism.

Shredder Cut Type

Now it’s time to consider the confidentiality of the data in your documents, the type of cut will define the shape and size of the paper pieces and if it falls into the wrong hand how hard it would be to put it back together.

Strip Cut
Strip cut would be the most common format. This is the process of cutting the paper into long strips, usually vertical. From a security perspective it would be considered low as the pieces and be put back together if it falls into the hands of someone who has a lot of time and is extremely motivated in finding out what data you may have. It is recommended for non-confidential documents which are generally shredded to save space when disposed of or to be recycled.

Cross Cut
To dispose of personal or confidential data a “cross cut” shredder would be recommended as it cuts the paper diagonally, from both corners, in short particles.

Micro Cut
This shredder type can cut paper into minimum diamond shape, offering maximum possible security for highly confidential documents such as government classified documents, financial documents or strategic plans.

Shredders will have a security level attached to their spec, in modern shredders it is a level starting at Level P-1 all the way up to Level P-7. The higher the level the more secure the destroyed information is with Level P-1 for shredding general internal documents, such as instructions, forms, expired notices to Level P-7 for top secret, highly classified data for the embassies, intelligence services etc.