Which Makes the Best Cut?
Whether at home or in the office, there is a matter that should concern you, the disposal of paperwork. Even you no longer need a certain piece of information, someone else might want it. It is 2012 and everyone is aware of the danger of identity theft, the US Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9 million cases of identity theft take place in the United States alone. There are myriad ways to defend your personal information but you can’t afford to end the fight at the garbage can. When deposing of paperwork that contains financial, personal or otherwise sensitive information; it is important to render them unusable to those who would desire that information for their own ends. One of the best ways to accomplish this goal is to use a paper shredder.
Paper shredders are not a new invention. The first patent for one was issued in 1909 and they have been mass-produced since the 1950s. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that they came into major use among non-governmental entities when the Supreme Court ruled that the 4th Amendment does not prohibit warrant-less search and seizure of garbage placed outside of a home or office. Shredders quickly became popular due to privacy concerns. Since then the law, environmental concerns, identity theft and industrial espionage have made them even more omnipresent in the workplace and home.
There are several different models of paper shredders. From small ones that can fit over a wastebasket to huge commercial designs that shred thousands of documents per hour; there are even top-secret models used by such government agencies as the NSA. The two types of shredders we’ll be discussing are the cross cut and strip cut designs and what are the pros and cons of each design.
The strip cut models use rotating knives to cut narrow strips as long as the original piece of paper. Cross cut models (also called confetti cuts) use two contra-rotating drums to cut the paper into rectangular, parallelogram or diamond-shaped sheds.
Here in comparison are the weaknesses and strengths of the two models:
Speed: in this category the strip cut model wins out. The cross cut is slower because it cuts the paper into more pieces.
Bag changes: the advantage is the cross cut design because the smaller pieces. Far more can fit into one refuse bag because the shredded are smaller than the strips.
Maintenance: Shredders require regular oiling to function properly. Strip cut machines require less oil then cross cut ones because they are cutting less. Dahle has recently released the CleanTEC paper shredders that all have automatic oiling features.
Security: This one should be your primary concern. Cross cut models offer far more security because they cut the paper into smaller shreds that are virtually impossible to piece back together. The cut paper produced by strip cut machines can (and in several cases have been) pieced back into their original form by determined people.
Price: Cross cut machines are generally more expensive then strip cut models. This question should be answered by considering how much paper shredding that you need to do.
Here is a list of companies that make commercial shredder models:
It’s up to you to decide which factor is the most important aspect in your decision to buy a shredder. Here at K.L. Security, we want to make sure you have all the facts about your security products and believe us; shredders are security products. Protect your clients, personal information and vital paperwork; shred them when you toss them!
Written by: Joseph Fowler
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Are you confused about what type of paper shredder to buy? There are undoubtedly a lot to choose from, but the most commonly used office machines are either strip cut or cross cut paper shredders.
Paper Shredder Cutting Blades
Each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so once you know what these are, you will quickly be able to decide which one is best for you. Here’s what you need to know.
Cost: Strip cut machines are less expensive than a cross cut paper shredder. This is primarily because the technology used in strip cut shredders is not as complex as that in their cross cut counterparts.
Capacity: Emptying the paper shredder is a fact of life in any busy office, but you will spend less time bagging shredded paper if you invest in a cross cut paper shredder. This is because the shredded paper it produces is smaller in size and takes up less space than the long strips from a strip cut machine.
Speed: Generally speaking, strip cut shredders are faster because they only make one continuous cut on the paper and they allow you to shred more sheets at once. The bi-directional cuts made on a cross cut paper shredder are not slow, but on a like for like machine, they are defintiely not as quick. They also cannot take as many sheets at one time because the blades produce more resistance and need a more manageable intake.
Security: Without a doubt, a cross cut shredder is more secure than a strip cut shredder. If you were to try to reassemble a shredded document, it would be significantly harder if you were starting with small cross cut shreds. Government agencies insist on cross cut shredders for this very reason, as do many security conscious businesses.
Maintenance: Keeping your shredder in peak condition literally means that it needs to run like a well-oiled machine. Strip cut shredders need oiled after about 60 minutes of continuous use, while cross cut shredders need oiled after every 30 minutes, and sometimes more often than that. However, shredder oil is relatively inexpensive, and you can install an Automatic Oiler to ensure that this is less of a chore around the office.
So, when choosing between these two types of shredders, it is less of about which one is best, and more about which one is best for you. A cross cut paper shredder is a popular choice, but there is still a lot to be said for strip cut shredders.
Dahle paper shredders are recognized the world over for their quality and reliability, so why not take a look at the models we stock to see which ones meet the needs of your organization.