The Benefits of Paper Shredders

Paper shredders are used in a number ofabove the manufacturer's recommendations; if
situations. Doctors, dentists, and psychologists usethey are overused or used improperly, they can
them to protect their clients' private medicalburn out quickly.
information. Private citizens use them to destroyPaper shredders can only be used for a certain
papers that contain important financial information.amount of time before they need to be rested.
Businesses use them to protect themselves fromThe length of time depends on the particular
corporate espionage and information theft. Papershredder. Most instruction manuals that come with
shredders cost between $15 and $130, dependingthe shredders have this type of information. For
on their features.example, some top of the line models can work
There are a large number of paper shredders onfor 10 to 12 minutes before needing to be turned
the market. The two main types are strip cut andoff for 20 minutes. Other models can work for as
cross cut. Strip cut paper shredders slice thelittle as two minutes at a time before needing to
paper into thin vertical ribbons. They are good inbe turned off for four minutes.
many situations, but they are not recommendedAnother feature that differs between types of
for people requiring maximum security. Cross cutpaper shredders is the number of sheets that it
paper shredders cut documents into tiny bits ofcan take at once. The "throat size," or size of the
paper that are nearly impossible to reassemble.opening where the paper is fed, varies between
Cross cut paper shredders are generally bettermodels. Some can handle up to 9 sheets at once,
than strip shredders for high security situations,but most can take about 5. It is recommended
but they are also more expensive.that people feed a little less than the maximum in
Another thing to consider when buying a paperorder to keep the machine working properly. Also,
shredder is how much it will be used. Differentthe dimensions of the opening need to be
paper shredders are built to handle differentconsidered. It is better not to have to fold a
amounts of paper at a time and to operate forsheet of paper in order to get it to fit into the
different lengths of time before needing a break.shredder. Most shredders can accommodate
It is important not to use the paper shreddersheets of paper around 9 inches long.