Which Industrial Heavy Duty Paper Shredder For Office to Buy?

Safely shred & protect sensitive data: What should you look for when buying a professional paper shredder?

Companies and offices are obliged to keep paper documents securely and permanently delete unnecessary documents containing sensitive data.

To this end, the obligation was introduced to equip themselves with a paper shredder capable of performing this operation with full respect for the privacy of personal data. This article briefly explains how to make an excellent choice for yourself and your business, depending on the level of confidentiality of the data you need to delete.

Why Is a Commercial Paper Shredder Essential In An Office?

When certain confidential information falls into the wrong hands, the consequences can be disastrous, especially for a business.
From customer information to employee salaries, companies that fail to shred sensitive documents run the risk of criminals using them against them. A paper shredder is a device that renders documents unusable and unreadable by permanently destroying the data they contain.

You might think that the same result can be achieved with a manual paper shredder or by simply tearing the sheets by hand, but this is not quite the case: the paper shredder performs an irreversible operation after which it is no longer possible (or very difficult) to retrieve the destroyed information.

Three Criteria For Buying A High Volume Industrial Heavy Duty Shredder

Before buying a paper shredder, consider at least three criteria:The degree of confidentiality of the data to be destroyed. Based on the classification of the data being processed, the company has a choice between a less expensive paper shredder for general data destruction or a professional paper shredder for the disposal of sensitive or even confidential data.

The amount of paper documents produced daily. More and more companies are opting for digital archiving of documents, leading to a significant reduction in paper consumption. Therefore, depending on the amount of paper produced in the company, you can choose a simpler version of the paper shredder or a faster and more advanced version that guarantees the destruction of large amounts of paper in a short time.

The type of media to be destroyed. Sometimes you need to destroy larger stacks of paper connected with staples or paper clips. In this case, it is necessary to buy paper shredders with this feature to avoid damaging the device.

Types of Commercial Heavy Duty Paper Shredders

There are different types of paper shredders designed for different purposes and security levels. One way to figure out what you need from your paper shredder is to choose which way you want the paper shredded.

1. Strip Cutting -> Buy Your Heavy Duty Strip Cut Shredder on Amazon

The paper shredder with paper strips shreds sheets of paper into long strips. They are fast, but offer little security because the strips are usually large enough to be joined together by a patient and determined person. Therefore, such a paper shredder is suitable for less sensitive documents and general office use.

2. Cross Cutting / Particle Cutting -> Buy Your Heavy Duty Cross Cut Shredder on Amazon 

Another type of paper shredder is the cross-cut paper shredder. This device cuts the paper both horizontally and vertically, producing smaller pieces of paper. However, the particle cut produces even slightly finer shreds. They offer a higher level of security compared to paper strips because it is much more difficult to recover information from the smaller pieces.

3. Microcut Shredder -> Buy Your Heavy Duty Microcut Shredder on Amazon

For even higher security requirements, there are micro-cut paper shredders, also known as micro-cut shredders. This shredder shreds paper into extremely small pieces, making it nearly impossible to recover or reconstruct the information. Micro-cut paper shredders are ideal for handling highly sensitive documents and meet high safety standards. Choosing the right type of paper shredder is crucial to achieving the right level of security for your documents. In the following paragraphs, let’s take a closer look at why the right security level is critical and why the law applies.

What Are The Security Levels Of Industrial Heavy Duty Shredders?

When choosing the right security level, it is important to consider the sensitivity of the documents to be destroyed. For general documents with low sensitivity, a lower security class may be sufficient. For documents with higher sensitivity, such as personal information or trade secrets, a higher security class and a security level with particle or micro cuts is recommended.Security level P-1 (strip cut): General documents from your everyday life that need to be destroyed, but with a low level of confidentiality. Recommended for personal use.

Security level P-2 (strip cut): Internal business documents for personal or business use, memos.

Security level P-3 (cross cut/particle cut): Sensitive documents, for a company with documents to be rendered unreadable, marketing strategies, action plans.

Security level P-4 (cross cutting/particle cutting): Confidential documents, for a medical practice with medical records, paychecks, for example.

Security level P-5 (cross cut/particle cut or micro cut): Secret documents, widely used by accountants, with high confidentiality of documents, business plans, personnel files.

Security level P-6 (microcut): Top secret documents, research and development documents, legal documents, often recommended for government agencies.

Security Level P-7 (microcut): Extreme security documents, plans, strategies, this security level is often used by the military.

Buying A High Volume / Heavy Duty Professional Paper Shredder Conclusion

Despite digitization in many companies, there will always be paper documents of great importance that you do not want to give to third parties, so it is not enough to simply fold or tear the sheets. Moreover, another advantage of the paper shredder is that you can keep everything neat and tidy, because the papers won’t fly around or get lost everywhere thanks to their own storage space. Finally, you can also recycle them, especially since their small size allows them to be easily stored in a bag and then easily disposed of.

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