Paper Shredding in Fort Collins
Paper Shredder is a device for shredding paper and some other elements by turning them into strips or pieces of different fractions. It is actively used by government agencies as well as individuals. Most often, with the help of a shredder, confidential information placed on different media is destroyed: paper, CDs, credit cards, etc. Less commonly, cardboard, books, and other objects are shredded. In addition to office paper shredders, there are larger analogs, for example, garden and industrial machines. Garden shredders (crushers) can crush branches, leaves, stems. In turn, industrial devices are designed for grinding high-strength elements in large volumes and in the shortest possible time. In order to successfully choose a paper shredder, you should first familiarize yourself with the varieties of this equipment. Shred Monster is a Fort Collins shredding company offering residential and commercial shredding service in Northern Colorado.
Types of document shredders
Despite the deceptive simplicity of the device, there are many different types of shredders. The division into classes is based on factors such as type of cut, the security level of the shredder, material thickness limit, noise level, etc. Let’s consider these parameters in more detail.
Power type There are manual and electric shredders depending on the type of food. The mechanism of the hand-held apparatus is activated by rotating a special handle. The speed of such grinding is quite low, in fact, as the functionality. At the same time, it works quietly, does not consume electricity, and is extremely compact. The electric paper shredder can work in both automatic and semi-automatic modes. The machine is able to independently pick up paper from the stack and destroy it. The semiautomatic device involves manual paper feeding. Electric shredder speed, noise level, and other parameters depend on a number of factors, for example, motor power, type of construction, build quality, etc.
Cutting type Different shredders are capable of shredding objects in different ways, shredding them into strips, diamonds, squares, and other shapes. Thus, the following subtypes of shredders are distinguished:
- grinders (allow you to set the length and size of the cut waste paper);
- strip cutters (crushes paper into strips of a whole sheet length; the possibility of document recovery is great; the level of waste is very large);
- granulators (also «meat grinders» and disintegrators), cut paper until it can pass through a special mesh; cutters (their task is to tear the paper to shreds);
- shredders (cutting paper into round or square small pieces);
- “Confetti” (creation of small rectangular or diamond-shaped pieces from paper by means of several rotating drums).
To determine the type, it is necessary to take into account the security class of the shredder. For example, if you need to shred ordinary unnecessary sheets (not documents), you can purchase a regular strip cutter.
Cutting method There are two cutting methods in total: straight (longitudinal) and cross. The first type involves the creation of strips with a width of 4 to 12 mm. It does its job quickly enough, makes a little noise, and can cut a large amount of paper at the same time. But at the same time, it is rarely used for serious documents due to the ability to easily recover the destroyed file (the secrecy of the first and second class paper shredder). The second type involves cutting paper into small pieces, ranging in size from 0.8 to 2 mm. The security level of this device is higher than 3. With its use, significantly less waste is obtained.
Material thickness and volume Most shredders are designed for shredding plain office papers. But there are other, more powerful specimens that are able to shred cardboard, discs, plastic cards, large volumes of thin paper at a time, documents along with brackets.
Format Most often, office shredders are made for standard A4 paper size. Such devices are able to solve most of the issues. But there are other devices, both narrowly and widely specialized.
Noise level The volume of the shredder is equally important for all users, especially in large offices with a large number of office equipment. Standard office paper shredders are quiet enough to operate without discomfort. But there are exceptions, for example, a low-quality cheap product that hums, squeaks, squeaks, and can make a number of other unpleasant sounds. Find the best paper shredding in Fort Collins from Shred Monster! Offering local Colorado shredding services for over 20 years.