A good quality paper shredder is an invaluable piece of equipment to have in any-sized office. Businesses, by their very nature, generate huge amounts of paperwork. As well as all the normal statements and bills, there are confidential documents, contracts and business bank details to worry about, all of which have the potential to go astray should they be placed directly into the waste paper basket.
But perhaps of greater concern is that personal information, credit card and bank details of the businesses' customers could also be exposed if an office does not diligently manage the disposal of its paper waste. This could lead to all sorts of problems including the fallout from contravention of privacy policies and data protection legislation, let-alone the knock-on effects that any bad publicity could have on the future welfare of the business.
So, what types of paper shredders are available for office use? Which type of paper shredder you choose is very much down to how much paper you want to shred. For a small home-office where shred volume is likely to be fairly low, a lightweight shredder, similar to those assigned for personal use, might be more than adequate for your needs. These units can generally shred up to 150 sheets per day without jeopardizing the unit's performance. Lightweight shredders are also quite compact and require little in the way of maintenance. Some units can even be placed or fixed directly over your waste paper basket for maximum convenience when shredding.
Should the volume of paper that you want to shred be more than 150 sheets per day then you will want to consider a larger standalone shredding unit. These are cabinet-sized machines that can be located centrally in an office space for use by all staff. Typically, they can handle large volumes of sheets per day, and can also shred several sheets at once. Working to maximum capacity it is not unusual for these larger machines to process paper at a speed of 10ft per minute or more.
Right at the other end of the scale are the heavy-duty office shredders. These are packed with features designed to make document destruction in a busy office as quiet and efficient as possible. Heavy duty office shredders can process documents at a speed of 20ft per minute or more, and invariably have wider throats to accommodate a greater range of document sizes. The shredding elements themselves are made from heavy-duty material, so allow for efficient shredding of more durable waste. Some machines in this specification range can even shred discarded CDs!
So, no matter what size your office, there is sure to be an office paper shredder that fits your needs perfectly…as well as your budget. All you have to do is decide how much paper you're likely to shred!