Have you ever asked yourself what the real purpose of a paper shredder is? The answer is security. Businesses and government agencies invest in high security paper shredders to destroy sensitive documents with financial, classified, or medical information. High-security paper shredders have to meet the National Security Agency’s 02-01 level of data destruction.
The nature of your business determines the type of paper shredder to use. Nowadays, several companies and business are protecting themselves from crimes such as identity theft by using paper shredders to get rid of delicate information.
Companies that are affiliated with the government are at high risk of a security breach if they do not invest in high security paper shredders. Any company or brand that has previously suffered a security breach is likely to lose 40% of its consumers. If the company is contracted by the government, it will be investigated, and the business halted until the end of the investigation. This can result in substantial company losses, including termination of government contracts.
So maybe you are wondering whether you can get your hands on high security shredders. The answer is you can, but the information you want to get rid of has to be high security as outlined by the NSA. The truth is a high security shredder is not what you need if you are not as a company required by law to have a high-security level of data destruction.
The security levels of paper shredders are determined by the DIN 66399 standards. These levels start from DIN P1 to DIN P7, DIN P1 being the lowest level of security and DIN P7 the highest. A high security paper shredder is usually between DIN P5 and DIN P7.
The cut type and size usually determine the level of security of a paper shredder. Level 6 shredders and level 7 shredders are also called micro-cut shredders. There are three types of cut types, strip-cut, cross- cut, and Micro-cut paper shredders. A micro-cut paper shredder cuts paper into small particles of 5mm2/0.01in2. They are therefore considered to be high security paper shredders.
Unlike the standard paper shredders, micro-cut shredders cannot shred a high capacity of papers. Most of them overheat if they are overworked and they need to be oiled regularly. However, there are high capacity paper shredders, also known as commercial paper shredders that can shred a lot of paper for a longer time.
A high capacity shredder has a sheet capacity of 14 to 550 sheets and can run for more than 30 minutes. This is the type of paper shredder that you don’t need to supervise. You can work as you shred. You can get cross-cut or micro-cut high capacity shredders on online stores and several physical stores.
To choose the best paper shredder for your business you need to understand the security and safety requirements for your business and the different types of paper shredders in the market. Paper shredders differ in shredding speed and the level of security. Once you understand these features you can make the right decision.
