Destroying confidential documents is a requirement in any business. If you are just starting your business, then a stand-alone office shredder will meet you needs just fine. Larger offices or companies that need a large volume of paper destroyed every month (e.g. medical billing companies) may need to contract with an external company to destroy their documents.
The More You Want, The More It Will Cost
Here are some guidelines to follow when buying an office shredder. Manufacturers may use different terminology to describe the same thing, but this guide will help you cut through the jargon. The bottom line is: The more you want out of your shredder, the more it will cost.
- Strip Cut vs. Cross Cut
A strip cut shredder will cut your documents into long thin vertical strips of paper. A cross cut shredder will also cut across the paper horizontally to make the pieces smaller and thinner. With a little effort and some patience, a person can assemble a strip cut document back into its original form and read your confidential document. A cross cut shredder will make this task even more difficult. The smaller the pieces that the shredder cuts your document into, the higher the level of security and the more you will pay for it. Other cut styles include diamond cut, confetti cut and micro cut (the smallest size cut).
- Sheets per Pass
Sheets per pass (or pages per pass or sheet capacity) in the number of sheets of paper that the shredder is able to shred at one time. Most "personal shredders" (used at home to destroy bills, etc.) are rated at two to five sheets at a time. For a shredder to be used in a business, it must be rated for a minimum of 12 to15 sheets of paper at a time. Most shredders have a slot gage built right into the front of the shredder to help you estimate how many sheets you can feed into the shredder at a time. Additionally, you should be able to shred documents without having to remove staples. Some more expensive ones will even shred paper clips.
- Duty cycle
Duty cycle is an indication of how strong and well built the machine is. The higher the duty cycle rating, the better built it is and the longer it will last. For business use, a duty cycle of 100 to 150 sheets per day (or 2,100 to 3,150 sheets per month) is required. Another indication of durability is specified by the "Continuous Run Time" rating. A business class shredder should have a continuous run rating of at least 20/40 minutes (i.e. run continuously for 20 minutes, let cool down for 40 minutes).
Extra features
There are a variety of other features that you can pay for on your shredder. Here are several worth considering and looking for when you purchase your shredder.
- Extra Large Bin
The smaller the waste bin the more time you are going to spend emptying it. A business class shredder should have a waste bin the can hold at least seven gallons (25 liters) of waste.
- Bin Full Sensor
A full bin of shredded documents can back up into the cutting assembly and cause a jam. This feature will turn off the shredder and light an alert lamp to let you know the bin is full. Clearing a shredder jam is messy and time consuming.
- Temp sensor
Sometimes shredding is so much fun (or for me, a stress reliever) that I lose track of the time. Before you know it, the motor is over heating and burning up. Better quality shredders will have a temperature sensor that will stop the shredder motor before it gets damaged. This feature will help you relieve that stress instead of causing more stress with a broken shredder.
- CD/DVD/Credit Card Shredder
Remember, not all confidential information is confined to paper. In addition to paper, some shredders can also destroy CDs, DVDs, and credit cards. Data CDs and DVDs that were used to archive or copy sensitive data must be destroyed too. Credit cards, frequent flyer cards, discount cards, etc. all contain personal information and must be destroyed.
