Why use a shredder?

Shredders are an effective way of disposing of sensitive or confidential documents securely. Whether you need to ensure proper destruction of information for business purposes or you just want to make sure your personal documents are safely destroyed, there are many reasons to use a shredder.

Whether for home or business use, a shredder can make it incredibly easy to dispose of sensitive information, from medical documents to credit cards and everything in between - including documents with staples or paper clips.

Types of Shredder

There are multiple types of shredder, including cross-cut shredders, micro-cut shredders, or auto feeder shredders. At Officeworks, we stock a great range of shredders, so whatever you need, we have an option for you.

What’s better: a strip-cut shredder, a cross-cut shredder or a micro-cut shredder?

With so many options available to you when choosing a paper shredder, it can be tough to land on the best choice. What does a cross-cut shredder do that a micro-cut shredder doesn’t?

Here are some things to consider:

• • Efficiency: Micro-cut shredders can be slower to use than cross-cut shredders or strip-cut shredders.
• • Security: Micro-cut shredders shred paper very finely, and offer much better data protection than cross-cut or strip-cut shredders due to the difference in shredding ability.
• • Portability: Due to differences in the size of shredded material, each type of shredder can fit more documents into the same size of bin. Micro-cut shredders cut the smallest, with strip-cut shredders producing the largest material.

In general, cross-cut shredders are a good middle-ground option that can offer some of the benefits of strip or micro-cut shredders. When it comes to security, micro-cut shredders are the best option.

How to choose a shredder

When considering which shredder to buy it’s important to consider a few different things so that you make the right choice for your needs.

• • Security needs: If you need a high level of security, consider a micro-cut shredder. These shredders shred material into smaller pieces than other kinds of shredder, so can offer the best destructive capabilities.
• • Efficiency: If you have a lot of material to shred, consider a high volume shredder capable of frequent use. There are even auto-feed options to make the shredding experience even easier.
• • Size and capacity: It’s important to strike a balance between capacity and the size of a shredder. Some workspaces are smaller, so can’t fit a large, high capacity shredder alongside a printer or a scanner.