In general, a paper shredder is a type of mechanical device used to cut paper into strips or fine particles. They are often used by government organizations or businesses and individuals to destroy private, confidential or important documents that need immediate destruction.
But the selection of these shredders is based on many essential factors, it is advisable to talk about their advantages first; paper shredders support waste management for recycling and other purposes depending on the intended use.
Currently, there is a variety of shredders from simple paper shredders to larger capacity shredders, industrial shredders. Therefore, you should invest in a paper shredder right now to bring many benefits to your life and work. How to choose a good paper shredder, let's find out.
1. Size of paper
How to choose a shredder depends on the paper size you use. This requires you to get an idea of what size paper you shred most often. In general, offices use letter-sized shredders, to help remove personal information. Sometimes you need more because some tax documents and payment slips are printed on extra-large square sheets of paper. When you are evaluating on paper sizes that you want to shred, you can save money on a smaller shredder, but the paper volume will be high so you need to consider that as well.
2. Load size of paper shredders
The issue we need to consider after discussing paper size is the issue of load size. While you're shredding the paper, the simple, narrow shredder inlet will work just fine. However, you don't need much if you're playing with over twenty sheets of paper. And you should pay attention to the amount of paper that the shredder allows to perform well. Therefore choosing a suitable shredder will solve this problem for you. Here are some principles to keep in mind:
- Personal shredder for single users
- Small shredder for up to five users
- General office shredder for up to ten people
- Where more than ten people should use a commercial shredder
3. Types of cutting for paper shredders
When considering the choice of shredders, you should pay attention to the cutting type. They are not simply machines that cut documents into vertical lines. In essence, strip cutters will produce long, straight cuts. Thanks to the diagonal cuts add an extra level of secrecy to the shredding by cutting the strips into smaller pieces. The shredding process is improved from cross-cutting, which ensures high security, reducing the paper to particles instead of blocks.
4. Speed of paper shredders
Investing in a paper shredder in your office or work area is very convenient. Not only does it save time and effort, but it also speeds up your work thanks to its shredding speed. Most modern shredders have a specific time setting and they will work continuously for a predetermined amount of time.
Next, only cooling is required for the machine to maintain normal operating condition. The shredder speed to buy depends on whether you're using the shredder at home or in the office. The home shredder will shred 5-12 sheets of paper within 2 to 8 minutes. If you cut paper often, you need a higher shredder, this shredder will be able to shred 10-18 sheets of paper in 7-30 minutes. But if you want a large office shredder, it can shred continuously for 45 minutes, about 13 to 38 pieces of paper.
5. Noise levels of paper shredders
Shredders are inherently noisy, they are built with moving parts used to cut and tear small bundles of paper. Any brand makes noise. However, if you invest a little more money you will probably find a noise control device. On the contrary there is still some blood destruction lower level will have noise. You can also consider to base your budget on how to choose a noise shredder that fits your budget.
6. Security levels of paper shredders
No matter what machine you buy, always be sure that it is safe for the user, especially if there are children in your home who may be at risk around the shredder unattended. Safety guards are a key element of most shredders, and they help keep fingers out of the danger zone. Besides, with expensive shredders, laser sensors can be used to detect fingers, thereby preventing the blades from cutting into the hands. Below are six levels of shredder security:
- Level 1: is the lowest security level, they will make strips or beads 3/8 inch wide. Great for destroying spam and documents that don't contain a lot of sensitive information.
- Levels 2 and 3: generated debris tends to be 1/8 inch or 1/3 inch across compared to 3/8 inch. Suitable for slightly more sensitive documents such as entries containing dates of birth and social security numbers.
- Level 4: debris that tends to cut diagonally is 1/16 inch x 5/8 inch, which is quite small. Suitable for high-security shredders for handling financial records.
- Levels 5 and 6: they provide the ultimate level of document protection, as some machines will comply with federal privacy laws such as HIPAA and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). And they can be used by the military and government officials to shred the most top-secret documents.
7. Capacity of paper shredders
When choosing the devices that will be strip or cross cut and the level of security you need, the next thing you should consider is the machine's shredding capabilities. This is based on how many sheets the machine can shred at a time. Shredders come in a wide range of sizes, from personal to heavy duty machines for departmental use.
- Desktop and personal shredders: those are small and intended only for use at home or at work by 1 or 2 people. Mainly shred up to 10 sheets at a time.
- Office shredder: suitable for co-working spaces such as smaller staff. Mainly cut 20 to 30 sheets in one go.
- Heavy-duty shredder and parts: the best shredding capabilities, suitable for use in workplaces such as banks, professional offices. Mainly cuts more than 40 sheets at a time, and carries a high level of security.
- Industrial shredders: popular for many offices these days, but best for mailrooms and print shops. Mainly cut more than 100 sheets at a time. But some industrial shredders can conveniently pack debris.
8. Other features
- Multimedia and cardboard: Some shredders not only shred sets of papers, but can also shred non-paper items. Personal shredders and desks used to destroy any staples or paper clips left on documents. Besides, you can cut credit and debit cards, instead of using scissors to cut the card. In addition, there is a multimedia shredder: can shred CDs, DVDs, floppy disks. Therefore, if you are interested in multi-item shredders, you should research in advance to have a multi-purpose machine.
- Continuous working motor: If you want to share a shredder with multiple colleagues, consider choosing a machine with a continuous duty motor. They will work non-stop to be able to cut as much as possible. As a rule, when you want to cut fiber blades, you need a device that works continuously. However, an automatic starter can be convenient and time-saving.
- Casters: This feature makes it possible to move the shredder easily if it is large and heavy. Not all machines have this feature, but you should also pay attention to them before you buy.
9. Different types of paper shredders
9.1 Strip cut
As a type of tape shredder (pasta cutter or straightener). With machine structure including vertical cutting blade. According to standard DIN 66399, rated as DIN P-1 or P-2, for strip cutter operation it cuts documents into long vertical stripes. In general, each standard document is divided into 39 sub-bands and they contain readable text and images, graphics, signatures, and images.
On the other hand, shredders are also used for personal and commercial purposes. The advantages of the machine are fast destruction and low maintenance, affordable price, but not effectively used to shred confidential documents. Depending on the shredder, shredders will have strip widths ranging from 1/16 inch to 3/4 inch and strip length based on when the A4 sheet is cut about 30-50 parallel strips. Plus, some strip shredders can cut credit cards and disks.
9.2 Cross cut
Cross-cut paper shredders (paper flower shredders) are commonly used in homes or small offices. Features a blade design that can be used to cut paper in various shapes and shred paper into small rhombus or squares. Besides, the machine also has cutting cylinders built directly into the shredder, which can cut paper from 1/32 inch to 3/8 inch in width and the length of an A4 sheet can cut 300 to 900 pieces. small paper.
In general, the machine ensures a higher level of security, the size of chips, compact barrel and high cutting performance and affordable price. However, shredders are emptied less often. They work mainly by cutting the document diagonally from both directions, which will make the paper particles small. Since the machine is constructed with cross-sectional technology, it provides a higher level of security than the P-3 and P-4, according to DIN 66399. However, regular maintenance and oiling is required.
9.3 Micro cut
High frequency shredders, even though they are cross-sectional shredders, allow for high security when shredding documents, rated as P-5, P-6 or P-7 shredders , according to DIN 66399. For example, A4 paper can cut more than 2,000 grains when using the P-5 shredder. The main advantage of this machine is security and the information on the paper cannot be read, but the large size is quite a waste of space in the shredder. Note, you need to oil and maintain the machine regularly to make it last longer.
9.4 Disintegrators
Known to be heavy duty cutters with multiple blades used to shred paper. The waste part after treatment will pass through the screen or sizing grid. In terms of construction, they have two blades attached to the same fixed position, the other blades are designed to rotate between the machine and cut paper at different angles and sizes. Notably, there are several shredder models that easily shred through optical media, CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, and tapes. One A4 paper can cut 1500 small pieces of paper.
9.5 Auto feed
This type of machine is capable of shredding large numbers of documents automatically and does not shred the output papers. Just simple operations such as putting paper in the machine, can cut about 100 sheets, but if the machine has a large value, it can cut 500 sheets per session. Note, it is recommended to choose a machine with a lock tray to enhance security with a pin code.
9.6 Hammermills
It is a heavy duty shredder and a large-scale office shredder. Hammer mill structure with rotating hammer to crush paper or any material through the machine. In addition, the hammers are designed to smash paper through the screen size to achieve a high degree of destruction. On the other hand, a hammer also has blunt edges, blades, or a combination of both. In addition, you can also resize the screen to fit the machine. In particular, it is possible to reduce the amount of paper to dust if placed correctly.
9.7 Industrial
Industrial shredders are used for shredding thin plastic and paper towels, beverage containers and corrugated boxes. But because of its large size, it takes up a lot of space and connects special voltage lines. Only use the machine when a separate area is designated for shredding operations that are safe but quickly and efficiently handle large volumes of material, including small waste. The advantages of the machine are environmentally friendly waste disposal and safe handling of sensitive business information. There are two types of industrial paper shredders:
- The first type has a rather small design and can accommodate a small table with a conveyor to load documents.
- The second type is the multi-stage shredder system.
9.8 Pierce and tear
For industrial use, shredders perform shredding by punching holes with a set of rotating blades. After the hole making process, shred the material in the machine when all the materials are destroyed. Some places use shredders such as using
9.9 With wastebasket
On the market, there are several shredders that will provide a paper bin after shredding. Below is a variation of the paper shredder.
- Lift off head: is a basic shredder with a shredder located on the top of the bin, just lift the head out of the bin. The downside is that the scraps of paper easily stay in the blade and fall to the floor when the tip is removed. The machine and the machine are heavy and it is easy for the shredder to tip over.
- Trash can: combined with a pull trash can. Most shredders come with a separate trash can that can be pulled out of the shredder when empty. But, it is recommended to use a shredder bag inside the bin, which makes it easier to empty the trash.
- Separate container: usually a separate container will go with large shredders including automatic feed shredders or heavy duty shredders and just below the blades. High capacity bins can be a plastic trash can or a cardboard box. To operate the container, a door must first be opened.
9.10 Without wastebasket
Although paper shredders do not have a trash can, they are low cost and compact in design, allowing them to be stored in a cabinet or desk drawer. In general, they contain only the top of the motorized shredder and do not have compartments or baskets for shredding paper seeds. Therefore, it is necessary to place the shredder on a container such as a trash can, and most shredders are equipped with an extension arm to ensure the top fits all trash cans. Note, the machine only shreds and does not shred large volumes.
9.11 Manual
The portable and compact design makes it convenient to place in a drawer, bookshelf or on a desk. No need to connect directly to a power source, just turn the knob or handle to shred documents with the handheld shredder. Besides, it can be cut into strips or cut across, you should use a planer to cut across the same trash to collect debris.
Conclusion
Whether you choose shredders for work in the office or at home, a shredder needs many factors to consider including the type of shredder, the cutting speed of the machine, the degree of protection. how...A paper shredder can help you and your colleagues a lot in life or work. Through the above types of paper shredders that behomemate have given the necessary information related to the selection, you should carefully study the above information and consider the purpose of its use.
