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Paper Shredder Information and Facts
How to Choose a Paper Shredder
Do I need a shredder?
Identity fraud is the fastest growing crime in America, and is the #1 concern among consumers. Identity theft occurs when a criminal appropriates another person’s private information and opens fraudulent credit accounts, ruining the victim financially.
According to 2 studies done in July 2003 (Gartner Research and Harris Interactive), approximately 7 million people became victims of identity theft in the prior 12 months. That equals 19,178 per day, 799 per hour, 13.3 per minute. Victims now spend an average of 600 hours recovering from this crime, often over a period of years.
But I’m careful, how could criminals get information?
It’s hard to believe, but some people make a good living by dumpster diving. They dig through public dumpsters and private trashcans looking for information AND IT’S COMPLETELY LEGAL! According to the U.S. Supreme Court (California v. Greenwood, decided May 16, 1988), all rights of privacy and ownership are forfeited by your disposal in the trash. The Court also said: "It is common knowledge that garbage is readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public."
Your best defense against identity fraud is by shredding documents with personal information before disposing of them. Documents to should shred include:
- Financial Statements
- Credit Statements and Receipts
- Personal Checks
- Pay stubs and employer or other income documentation
- Anything showing names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, etc.
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What kind of shredder do I need?
There are many different kinds of shredders. Consider these factors when deciding what kind of shredder best fits your needs:
- What will you be shredding? Paper, Computer Disks, Plastic Cards?
Paper comes in many different forms. Some paper is thicker or thinner, glossy or coarse. Some shredders can handle plastics and other can’t. Be sure your shredder can handle whatever you will be shredding.
- How sensitive is the material that will be shred? How confidential is this information?
Some shredders cut paper into long strips that could be pieced back together. Other shredders turn the paper into unrecognizable confetti. The more important the document the more it needs to be shred into very small pieces.
- How frequently will you be using the shredder? Hourly, Daily, Monthly, etc?
Some paper shredders are designed for low volume use, where other heavy-duty shredders can be used continuously. Purchasing a shredder that cannot handle the volume of shredding can be very frustrating.
- Do you need one large shredder, or many shredders?
Some offices can use one large shredder for all their shredding needs, where other offices may need several smaller shredders to be placed strategically throughout the office.
- How many sheets will you shred at a time? Is your shredding load light or heavy?
Smaller shredders can only handle a few sheets of paper, where larger shredders can grate many sheets of paper at a time. Strip cut shredders can always shred more paper at a time than a cross cut shredder.
- Do you need a stationary or a portable shredder?
Shredders can be very large and heavy. If you need a mobile shredder to take from one office to another consider a lighter shredder or one with mobile casters. If space is an issue, consider a thinner shredder that can fit into a tight space.
- What size of paper do you need to shred?
Some shredders are designed to shred small letters, where other shredders can shred newspapers and phone books. Take into consideration what you will need to shred now and in the future.
Should I use an outside shredding service?
There are companies that offer shredding services. They set collection boxes in an office and empty them bimonthly, taking the contents to their facilities for shredding.
The benefit of using these services is convenience, but there are downsides to using an outside shredding service.
Cost - You may be paying anywhere from $700 to $2000 every month for this service. This cost will never reduce, and will never end. You are essentially paying rent for their service and equipment.
Lack of Security:
- Documents are left in nonsecure bins for days or weeks, there is the real possibility of a security breach.
- Bins can be opened easily and material can be exposed.
- The shredding service employees have access to your company’s and client’s most sensitive information. Employees are screened for security purposes, yet unknown contractors have access to all the documents you meant to keep secret.
- You really don’t know what happens to the documents when it reaches the shredding facility. How long do your documents sit in an open pile for people to read before they are destroyed?
There are benefits to leasing our purchasing your own shredder.
Cost – Leases for large shredders could be about $270.00 per month. If you are paying $700 or more to a service you'll be saving at least $430 per month. This cost will completely go away once you payoff the shredder, then the savings really start to add up!
Security:
- You guarantee your security and your client’s privacy when information is immediately shredded on your premises instead of off-site.
- You can be certain that information is being destroyed in a timely and secure manner instead of sitting in a pile in some unknown facility.
You are the first line of defense against identity theft.
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What are the different types of shredders?
Strip-Cut Shredders
Strip-cut shredders slice paper into thin strips. These strips can vary in size from 1/2-inch wide to 1/16-inch wide. Strip-cut shredders make fewer cuts than crosscut shredders so they are able to shred more documents at a time than crosscut shredders (of the same class).
Cross-Cut Shredders
Crosscut shredders cuts the paper in crisscross motion, slicing pages into tiny pieces from 3/8-inch x 3-1/8-inch to 1/32-inch x 1/2-inch. Crosscut shredders don’t shred documents as quickly as strip-cut shredders (of the same class) due to the extra cutting involved, but they do provide more security by shredding pages into smaller unrecognizable bits. These bits take up less space and reduce how frequently the shredder needs to be emptied.
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Desk-Side Shredders
Desk-side shredders are compact, entry-level shredders that are used in the home or in a small business. Desk-side shredders are light and portable and can be set at the side of a desk for convenience. Desk-side shredders, depending on the model, shred up to three to eight sheets of paper at a time and are not designed for heavy use.
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General Office Shredders
General office shredders are a medium-size shredder that can be used in most office environments. General office shredders have a higher shred capacity than the smaller desk-side shredders and can shred from five to 30 sheets of paper, depending on the model.
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Departmental/Heavy Duty Shredders
Departmental/heavy duty shredders are higher-end shredders that are built for high-frequency office shredding. These shredders are perfect for offices, banks and government agencies. Departmental/heavy-duty shredders can shred up to five to 60 sheets of paper at a time, depending on the model.
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Industrial Shredders
Industrial shredders are designed for high-volume shredding, and depending on the model can shred up to 11 to 450 sheets of paper at a time. Industrial shredders are made for continuous, daily use, and are used large companies or by outsourced shredding companies. Some industrial shredders will compact and turn shredded paper into a bail of paper, like a bail of hay.
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Cardboard Shredders
Cardboard shredders slice broken down boxes into sheets of mesh. Warehouses, packaging companies, and shipping businesses can use cardboard shredders to convert empty boxes into a free supply of large-volume filler material, suitable for packing fragile goods for transport.
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What level of security does my shredder need?
DIN 32757 Shred Particle Security Levels
(Security Level 6 is NSA/CSS certified, not DIN 32757 certified.)
Each type of shredder offers varying security, based on how fine the documents are destroyed. The following is a guide to determine what level of security you may require.
Security Level 1
For shredding general internal documents.
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 3/8” x 1 ½-3 1/8” Cross Cut
- Approximately 3/8” Strip Cut
METRIC
- (10.5mm Strip Cut)
- (11.8mm Strip Cut)
- (10.5mm x 40-80mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 2
For shredding sensitive internal documents.
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 1/8” Strip Cut
- Approximately ¼” Strip Cut
- Approximately ½” x 9/16-2” Cross Cut
- Approximately ¼” x 9/16-2” Cross Cut
METRIC
- (3.9mm Strip Cut)
- (5.8mm Strip Cut)
- (7.5mm x 40-80mm)
Security Level 3
For shredding confidential documents.
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 1/16” Strip Cut
- Approximately 1/8” x 1 1/8-2” Cross Cut
METRIC
- (1.9mm Strip Cut)
- (3.9mm x 30-50mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 4
For shredding of secret documents.
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 1/6” x 9/16-5/8” Cross Cut
METRIC
- (1.9mm x 15mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 5
Often used for shredding top-secret and high-security documents
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 1/32” x 3/8-1/2” Cross Cut
METRIC
- (0.78mm x 11mm Cross Cut)
Security Level 6
The latest security level backed by the U.S. government. NSA/CSS Approved. Ultra secure shredding for the most sensitive documents.
STANDARD MEASUREMENT
- Approximately 1/32” x 5/32” Cross Cut
- Approximately 1/26” x 1/5” Cross Cut
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Glossary
Automatic Stop/Start - The automatic stop/start is a sensor, built into some shredders, that starts the blades automatically when paper is fed and stops when done.
Bag full indicator – A feature on some shredders that indicate when the shredder is full and needs the bag changed.
Bin - The receptacle for the shredded paper.
Casters – A metal frame for larger paper shredders that have legs or wheels to make moving the shredders easier.
CrossCut – Shredders with blades that move in a crisscross motion to cut paper into small pieces.
Duty Cycle - The amount of time a shredder can be used before it must be turned off and cooled down.
Footprint - The area of ground the shredder takes up.
Hopper – The slot where paper is fed into the shredder.
Horizontal feed - Shredders that feed paper from the side.
Overload protection - If too many sheets of paper are loaded into a shredder, the overload protection will turn the shredder off before the motor is burned out.
Reverse function - A reverse function on the shredder backs the paper out of the feeder.
Sheet capacity - The amount of paper a shredder can shredder at one time.
Shredder Speed - The speed that a shredder operates, usually rated in feet of paper per second.
Strip-Cut - Strip-cut is a type of shredding that shreds the paper into long strips of paper.
Throat - The throat of a paper shredder is where the paper is placed before shredding. Different paper shredders have different throat widths.
Vertical feed - Shredders that feed the paper through the top of the machine.
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