subject: Six Things to Consider When Buying A Paper Shredder [print this page] Six Things to Consider When Buying A Paper Shredder
Paper shredders are a vital piece of equipment to have in any business, whether you work from a small desk in your apartment or in a huge multi-department office building. However, with hundreds of shredders to choose from, it can be difficult to determine which one is right for your needs. Here is a breakdown of the most important components to look for.
Security. How much security is really necessary and what do all the levels mean? Levels one and two most often only create long strips. Lower security shredders are fine for generic shredding of personal letters or internal business documents. Most cross cut shredders provide at least a level three security rating, which is adequate for confidential personal and business documents. Level four is used for destroying materials crucial to a company's existence. And levels five and six are necessary for Top Secret and highly classified information.
Brand/Warranty. One of the first things you'll notice is the various brands. Not all names are created equal; reputation behind the name is key. Brands such as Fellowes, GBC, and MBM Destroyit are all known for providing excellent machines.
Warranty. A warranty is like insurance, extraneous until needed. Warranties usually breakdown into two categories. Parts and labor coverage can range from 90 days to life, with the average being around 1-2 years. The second part, the blades, carries the most coverage; it's not uncommon to find 20 years to lifetime coverage on cutting shafts.
Speed/Capacity. These two items work in tandem. Speed refers to how fast items are processed while capacity is how much throughput the machine can handle at once. While higher numbers are obviously more efficient, the best balance depends on your needs. If you shred a few pages throughout the day, you might prefer a higher capacity so you can insert your stack and be on your way. However, if you bring a large stack to the shredder at the end of the day, you might prefer a faster machine to quickly eat through your pile. It's also worth noting that higher security devices take less at once and process them slower as a general rule.
Materials. What do you need to shred? Commonly shred items other than paper include staples, paperclips, credit cards and CDs. Multimedia can usually handle items such as DAT tapes, video tapes, zip disks, and floppy disks. There are even machines designed specifically for shredding prescription bottles. Cardboard shredders turn old boxes into packing material. While special shredding capabilities are handy, don't get caught up into buying a machine that shreds zip disks but sacrifices sheet capacity if what you really need to destroy is paper.
Safety. This is often more important to those with children and pets. Look for a machine with automatic shut off capabilities. Fellowes leads the industry in this category with their SafeSense technology, which uses thermal sensors to detect fingers or a tail too close to the opening and stops the blades to prevent injury. Other common features are an automatic off for an open cabinet, safety guard over the feed slot, and protection against overheating.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of what to look for when shopping for a shredder. Before you begin, have an idea of what you need from each category. Once armed with this information, the selection process is much easier. Good luck and happy shredding!
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