Every office needs to have a paper shredder
these days. Choosing the
right shredder is important and one of the most vital considerations is
how much security a machine offers.
Every office needs to have a paper shredder
these days. Having one of these machines and using it on a regular basis
can help you get rid of important, sensitive documents so your identity
will stay safe and your business can stay competitive. Choosing the
right shredder is important and one of the most vital considerations is
how much security a machine offers. Paper shredder security is measured
in levels. Level 1 machines offer the least security while the Level 6
machines offer the most. Here's what you need to know about the
different security levels:
Levels 1 and 2.
Machines with these security ratings don't offer a super high level of
protection but that doesn't mean they're useless. Level 1 and 2 machines
are often used in the home and they're great for shredding things like
junk mail, grocery lists, and so on. Many strip-cut shredders are
affordable, so they're perfect for personal shredding.
Levels 3 and 4.
Shredders with a Level 3 or 4 security rating are the happy medium
between lower security machines and those with the highest ratings.
These shredders are typically available in both strip- and cross-cut
varieties. Also, many of these machines are suitable for both home and
office use so you can shred correspondence, bank statements, and so on.
There are plenty of affordable Level 3 and 4 devices available, so you
can have a higher level of security and still stick to your budget.
Levels 5 and 6.
Now we get to the powerhouse machines that offer an extremely high
level of security. Level 5 and 6 shredders are either micro- or
cross-cut devices and some of them even receive governmental approval.
In other words, using one of these shredders is the way to go if you
need to shred highly confidential documents. There are plenty of Level 5
and 6 machines that are suitable for office and departmental use.
That's
a brief overview of the various paper shredder security ratings.
However, you should consider two other things to ensure you will get the
protection you need.
For one thing,
you need to think about if you want a machine that can handle multimedia
items like CD's and DVD's. Shredding these items will provide you with
more security and there are a lot of both strip- and cross-cut machines
that can handle them.
Second,
check out the shredding capacities of the machines you're considering.
Shredding capacity varies quite a bit. Some devices can only shred a few
sheets of paper at once while others can destroy 20 or more per pass.
Shredding capacity is important because you want a machine that can take
care of your documents quickly. To that end, you not only need to
choose a machine that can shred a suitable amount, it should preferably
have a continuous-duty motor. This will enable you to shred non-stop
when necessary.
It is
important to give some thought to paper shredder security so you can
protect your private information. Now that you know about shredder
security levels and the like, you'll be ready to choose the shredder
that's right for you.
Jeff McRitchie is the Vice-President of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related
to bookbinding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More
than 2,500 of his reviews have been published in thousands of locations
on the Internet. If you're looking for information about paper shredders, his articles are a great place to start.
