Office Cross Cut Paper Shredders vs. Strip Cut Paper Shredder

It is said that thieves cannot steal what they cannot read and to that end, experts agree that the ideal way to dispose of any personal or private information is to shred them. By doing so, the chances of that information falling into the hands of an identity thief are greatly diminished.

However, when it comes to document shredders, there are numerous different types on the market that may be confusing to potential buyers. The actual method of shredding is a very important consideration and can make the difference between the documentation being rendered totally unreadable to the possibility that it could be reassembled and the contents read.

A strip cut document shredder does exactly what the name suggests and cuts the sheet into thin strips of varying widths depending on the machine itself. A crosscut or confetti cut shredder will cutup documents into small unreadable pieces, which are virtually impossible to reassemble.

Although cross cutting paper shredders are more expensive than a strip cut document shredder, they are the preferred choice for many as they provide a better measure of security. The reason for their higher cost is the fact that they use of two sets of cutting blades that make lengthways and crosswise cuts to the sheet. The strip cut shredder on the other hand only cuts the papers lengthwise leaving thin strips that are the length of the paper sheet itself.

Another advantage of a crosscut paper shredder is that the bulk of the shredded debris is much less than a strip cut shredder. In other words, you would be able to shred and dispose of around ten times more printed matter into the same sized wastepaper sack than with a strip cut shredder.

There is a slight trade off between the two types of device in as much that a cross cut shredder is more intricate in design and will require a little more maintenance than a strip cut machine. This includes keeping the cutter blades lubricated at all times, using specially formulated shredder oil. It is also recommended to run a cross cut shredder in reverse on a regular basis in order to release any debris that may have become stuck in the cutter blades.

Given the choice and if you are regularly destroying confidential papers and documents, a crosscut shredder is the best choice for high security shredding.

There are also different levels of security allocated to different shredders but this only relates to the method of cutting and the size of the shredded debris For instance, a confetti cut shredder with a security rating of four will produce a cutting size of 2 mm by 8 mm whereas a security level of one, applicable to a strip cut shredder, will give a cutting width of 6.3 mm.

Security levels range from one to four with the higher number being the best in terms of security of the shredded waste. The higher the levels of security that the shredding requires, the more elaborate the design of the confetti cuts. It is all worth the price difference considering the importance of the documents that you need to destroy.