Paper Shredders - 4 types - Which one provides the highest data security?
Updated: 6:31 p.m. EDT, March 18th, 2008 - ThoughtsGarden.comPaper shredders serve a variety of purposes; whether one wants to protect their identity, privacy or simply destroy old documents; ensure their paper shredders are a means to get them done. Not all shredders are effective in achieving data security goals. Some shredded papers are quite easy to re-assemble.
When you need maximum data security you need the right shredder and we'll show you which one is the most secure and why.
Paper shredders are also categorized by heavy duty (for the office environment) or for home use.
Shredders for Home Use
Shredders made for home use usually have a smaller shredding capacity of 10 to 15 sheets. These shredders
are also smaller.
There are 4 main types of paper shredders depending on your needs and budget. Some paper shredders are more inclined to get jammed than others depending on the way they shred paper.
The 4 main types of paper shredders are:
- Strip Cut Shredders
- Cross Cut Shredders
- Confetti Cut Shredders
- Diamond Cut Shredders
Off the four types of shredders Diamond Cut Shredders are the best in many respects. We'll tell you why...
Heavy Duty Shredders
(for Office Use)
These shredders are much bigger and are designed for heavy frequenty use and can take more sheets at a given time.
Strip Cut Shredders
These shredders are the worst when it comes to protecting data. Strip cut shredders only shred sheets
vertically in long strips. They are the simplest when shredding documents and cost much less.
Use these shredders only to shred papers with insensitive data.
These shredders are also cheaper. The degree of difficulty in re-assembling the stripped sheets depends
on the width of each strip. Wider strips are easier to reassemble.
Because of their nature of shredding paper, the shredder is more likely to get jammed.
Cross Cut Shredders
These shredders cut sheets into smaller vertical strips about 1 to 2 inches long.
The shredded paper is more
difficult to re-asseble than a strip cut shredder.
Because of their nature, these shredders are more likely to get jammed as well especially the ones for home use.
Confetti Cut Shredders
These shredders are similar to cross cut shredders but the length of the vertical strips are even smaller.
These shredders are more secure than cross cut shredders.
Diamond Cut Shredders
Provide the Best Security with high resistance to paper jams.
Lastly, these shredders cost more but are the best in terms of offering maximum data security. Also because of the
shape of the shredded bits of paper, this shredder runs smoothly while effectively minimizing paper jams in
the cutting head.
The shredded bits of paper are in the shape of a rhombus with very long vertical edges. This long
rhombus shape makes it more difficult to reassemble the shredded bits and hence the shredded sheets
of data are more secure.
Related:
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- Why use a paper shredder?
What shredder do you use or recommend?