How to Choose a Paper Shredder

Before getting into the details, the first thing you'll notice is the manufacturer. This is a case of you get what you pay for. A Fellowes shredder or MBM Destroyit may cost a little more but their higher quality products are well worth it. Likewise, there are cheap, basic models out there but they may break easier and often don't come with a warranty backing. A reputable company can be trusted to deliver a reliable device.

A warranty often seems like an unnecessary extra. However, if your machine breaks down, warranty coverage can save you from costly repairs or replacement.
GBC is well-known for their outstanding warranty service. Warranties usually come in two sections: parts and labor coverage and a guarantee on the blades.

Parts and labor refers to specific pieces that may break and the manpower needed to fix them. Depending on the limitations of the warranty, wearables may or may not be covered. Some companies will send a technician out to fix your machine or on smaller models, even replace it. Parts and labor coverage can be as long as life, with the average being one or two years.

The cutting shafts, on the other hand, are often designed out of heavy duty steel and last longer. Twenty years isn't uncommon with some brands offering lifetime coverage on the blades. However, it is worth noting that higher security models usually have a shorter warranty on the cutters due to the higher wear and tear.

All shredders create one of two types of shreds, either strip cut or cross cut. Strip cut is exactly how it sounds; paper is sliced into long narrow ribbons.
A cross cut shredder creates particles can be short, thin strips, diamond or parallelogram shaped, or tiny squares.

Strip cut shredders tend to handle more sheets at once and have faster blades.

Cross cutters, on the other hand, may take in less pages and run a little slower but provide much better security. And as an added bonus, cross cut particles fill up the waste bin slower, meaning less trips to the trash for you.

Shredders come in six different security levels, rated one through six. One is the lowest, providing only basic security while level six is safe enough for use in top secret government agencies and research labs. Most people's needs fall somewhere in the middle. Level two works well for generic office shredding of old memos and work orders.

Three is a little better and safely destroys sensitive business and personal information. It is all you need to keep your office HIPAA and FACTA compliant. More confidential documents, such as those crucial to a company's existence or for a person's well being, require a level four rating.

Levels five and six are approved by the Department of Defense and NSA (respectively) and can be used in organizations needing the safest document destruction.

Usually expressed in feet per minute, faster speeds mean less time waiting while your documents shred. And of course the speed listed on the box is the maximum rate of shredding under ideal conditions; real time use is often slower. Various factors affect the pace of the blades. Lower security shredders, such as strip cut models, run the fastest while high security devices grind slower. Capacity also plays a role. Less pages inserted at once allows the blades to move faster. And finally differing paper weight and materials, such as credit cards or CDs, can alter the rate of shredding.

This is one of the factors affecting shred rate. Capacity refers to how many pages the blades can handle at once. Intake is directly related to size and usage. For lighter use by a few people, less sheets need to go through at once. Office models have a wide intake range which depends heavily on how many users will share the device. Commercial and industrial models are designed for heavy use and take in the most sheets, ranging from around 25 up to several hundred.

Shredders are designed to destroy all kinds of materials other than paper. The blades most commonly take care of staples, paperclips, and credit cards. Cardboard shredders turn old boxes into convenient packing material. Multimedia shredders can obliterate a wide variety of items including CDs, DVDs, DAT tapes, VHS tapes, floppy disks, and Zip disks. There are even machines designed specifically for pharmacies that shred prescription and cough syrup bottles. Knowing exactly what your office will need to dispose of will help narrow down your choice.

Knowing what you're looking for out of these categories is a huge help in identifying the ideal shredder for your needs. Armed with these details, you are now equipped to make an informed decision. Good luck with your decision and happy shredding!

If you're in the market for a great shredder, make sure you visit MyBinding.com. They have a great selection of these devices, along with all the shredding supplies you'll need. You should also head over to the MyBinding.com Blog to learn all you can about paper shredding. Check it out for yourself today!