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Document Shredder Product Advisor:
what to look out for
Why do you need a document shredder?
For handling personal data – in both the home and the office – a good document shredder is indispensable. It is only with the help of a document shredder that documents with confidential information such as account numbers, signatures or patient data can be irrevocably destroyed by making it impossible to reconstitute the shredded documents. This is not the case if files or documents are just put in the waste paper collection and this can then lead to data theft and cause considerable damage.
Data theft is also a subject which affects everyone privately and a document shredder should therefore be available at home to destroy things such as account statements, invoices, personal letters.
The basic rule is: as soon as your name appears on a document, this document belongs in a shredder.
Since the GDPR came into force, the subject of the “destruction of personal data” has become even more important and has intensified the focus on document shredders – more information on the legal requirements.
What is the difference between strip cut and particle cut (also known as cross-cut)?
In strip cut, each page is shredded into max. 6 mm wide strips. The length of the strips corresponds to the width of the fed paper.
This allows one to easily put the strips back together, therefore a shredder with strip cutting is not suitable for sensitive data and does not meet the requirements of the GDPR with regard to the destruction of personal data. Strip cutting shredders are available for the safety levels P-1 and P-2.
Document shredders with cross-cut have two shafts which run in opposing directions and which interlock. The sharp edges of the knife-like cutting shafts cut the paper inserted into the machine both lengthwise and horizontally. Only very small particles are left, for instance a DIN A4 sheet is cut into at least 200 pieces, which makes it very difficult or even impossible to reconstruct the data. An additional advantage of cross-cut is that the volume of the shredded waste in the paper bin is significantly reduced, so that it does not have to be emptied so often and less time is wasted on this task.
Particle cutt shredders are available from the safety levels P-3 and the destroyed documents can no longer be reconstructed to the original document. Therefore, they are ideally suited for the destruction of personal data.
But: how are you going to find the right document shredder?
You just have to consider 3 steps:
STEP 1: SECURITY
Document shredders are available in various security levels. Our overview shows you the differences and enables you to find the right security level for your requirement.
STEP 2: TYPE OF DATA MEDIA
Data do not only exist on paper. Particularly in the office, data are stored on a wide variety of different media, such as paper, CDs, USB-sticks, credit cards….
This also has to be taken into consideration when selecting the right shredder.
And‚ don’t worry: staples can be put into every HSM document shredder. The only exceptions are the high security document shredders in security level P-7.
STEP 3: WHERE WILL THE SHREDDER BE USED?
A particular shredder will be recommended depending on how and where it is to be used. The difference will depend on the number of pages which have to be shredded in one go and the total to be shredded in the course of the day as well as which paper formats have to be shredded.
Whilst the smaller home office shredders need to cool down after a certain operating time, our office shredders (i.e. from the SECURIO B-series upwards) are designed for continuous operation – optimal for day-to-day work in an office.
TIP: Size of the paper bin
When you are deciding on which shredder to buy, also pay attention to the size of the waste bin. It might not seem particularly relevant at the moment, but the size will influence how often you have to empty it. It is much better to decide on a machine with a larger waste bin rather than several smaller machines with smaller bins - this will save time.
Often underestimated – the noise level of a document shredder
When purchasing a document shedder, check the noise level given in dB(A). This states the noise level which people actually perceive, adjusted to the relative noise level.
When setting up an office for several people, it is important to consider how far their desks are from equipment such as printers and document shredders.
At home, a document shredder is normally placed directly at the desk, so it is particularly important to ensure that the noise level is as low as possible.
An optimum combination of cutting units and drive elements ensures that HSM document shredders have a very low noise level of 45 - 58 dB(A), depending on the range and model. As a comparison, the noise level of several models on the market can be 70-75 dB!
