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Do you have too much clutter in your office? Are there piles of paper stacked high to the ceiling? Are you concerned about throwing out documents, thinking that they might fall into the wrong person’s hands? You need to be very careful about what you discard; it’s time to shred that paper! It’s a worry free and easy way of discarding documents, with a high level of security. If you split your resources between paper and digital, a shredder is a vital component of office equipment you can’t do without. Here are our tips on what to look for when purchasing a shredder.
Where to start?
When looking to purchase a shredder, it can be a much more involved process than you’d initially think. You first need to consider what, and how much, your business will need to be shredding.
First start with how you want the document destroyed. We recommend, if your shredding needs are at the very minimum, a shredder that would cut the paper into an average of 400 little pieces of paper. If you will be shredding highly confidential documents, heavier duty shredders can convert a regular sheet of paper into approximately 3000 little pieces. The main thing you will want to look for is a machine that cuts the paper into square or rectangles, pieces of paper that are shredded into long strips can easily be placed back together. Shredders can offer a small piece of mind in an “identity theft” world. It’s better to be safe than sorry right?
What should you be considering?
- How long can I use the machine until it overheats?
- How many sheets can be shredded at a time?
- It’s all well and good if the unit can operate for hours without overheating, but if it can only take a small number of pages at once, there’s no productivity bonus for your business there.
- Can it shred items other than paper?
- If your business needs to dispose of confidential items other than paper, you will want a machine that has the capabilities to destroy CD’s, DVD’s, credit cards, etc.
- What is the shredding speed?
- What is the noise level?
- If your office is small, a very noisy shredder is going to be used few and far between, otherwise it will be increasingly difficult to complete daily office tasks.
- What happens when the paper jams?
- Is it an easy fix or is does it require a lengthy solution?
- What is the cost of the unit?
- There is no point in purchasing an expensive machine that can do it all, if you’re not going to be using half of what it is designed for.
“I know what my business needs…now what?”
