Your office needs to have a shredder (if not multiple) on-site to make sure that your important information stays secure. Sure, you can hire an outside service, but with that you relinquish control of your data security, and it becomes a never-ending expense which will only grow over time. Here is a list of things to consider when choosing a shredder for your office:
What are you shredding?
This might seem like a simple question, but it is important to think of all the possibilities and how your needs will grow. When shredding paper, do you need your shredder to accept paper clips and other small pieces of metal, like staples? Are you going to need to shred laminated/plastic material or are you looking to shred thicker items like cardboard? Will you be shredding larger pieces like binders, manuals and other types of bound books? Do you need to securely dispose of electronics like CDs or hard drives?
Where will you be shredding?
Do you have a smaller office space or does it spread across multiple offices and floors? Also, how many people will be using this shredder? For multiple people and smaller spaces, you might need a medium sized shredder in a centralized location. For larger offices more spread out, smaller deskside shredders are the most efficient.
What Level of Security do you need?
Depending on the nature of material you will be shredding, you will need to look at security levels. There are 6 standard security levels when talking about shredded paper. The higher the security level, the smaller the particle size. Ranging from P2 aka Strip Cut with material particle surface of approx. 800mm2 up to a P7 aka Super Micro Cut with a material particle surface of approx. 5mm2. Keep in mind, most shredder models come with the option of any of the 6 levels of security. So if you don’t find what you’re looking for right away, just ask.
Once you have determined the answer to those three questions, you can now shop for your shredder and be able to narrow down the list quickly to find the right fit for your exact needs.
