Whether you work in a large or small business, you probably come across reasons to use an office shredder every day. Perhaps you work in an accounting firm that handles important tax documents that you are legally required to keep confidential. Maybe you work for a school that goes through mountains of paper waste every day. You could possibly even work from a home office, where the only thing keeping your files from taking over your living room is your ability to reduce your unused papers to an easily managed lump.



Although electronics and technology have made paperless communication easier than ever, most businesses still rely heavily on paper products. Printers, fax machines, copiers, and even handwritten notes get passed around and used each and every day. Some of these materials must be destroyed for reasons of confidentiality and to prevent identity theft, while others simply need to be disposed of in a convenient manner. Either way, one of the most important things you can do is choose an office shredder with the right capabilities for your paper output.

Office shredders differ from traditional shredders in the amount of paper they can handle at a time, the amount of paper they can handle overall, and the types of materials you can actually shred. They are designed to be used by more than one person (as opposed to one designed solely for personal use) and typically come in larger and faster models.

Some of the unique features you can find when you shop around for this type of equipment includes motors that are constructed to run for long periods of time. This is great for businesses with large quantities of paper to shred, since you never have to worry about a motor overheating. You'll also never be required to "rest" your shredder several times throughout the day.

Office shredders also typically feature sharper blades and stronger motors that can shred everything from papers with staples and paper clips on them to cardboard or even computer disks. This can save quite a bit of time, since the removal of objects lodged in the paper or sorting through a wastebasket's contents doesn't have to be performed by hand.

When you use a quality brand, you can typically shred between 7 and 100 sheets of paper at a time, depending on the exact model you choose. Those on the higher end of the quality spectrum have additional benefits of not jamming when used on a regular basis (or when the materials include some of the hardware mentioned earlier).

Most are also designed to fit in with the typical office aesthetic. Although beauty probably isn't high on your list of priorities for a paper shredder, today's top models are more compact and offer better feed placement than most of the older, bulkier versions.

The better models have the additional bonus of conforming to the current standards of shredding quality. You can get smaller, thinner strip cuts that make your paper output more compact or higher-security cross cuts that reduce your paper and cardboard to small, confetti-like bits. If you have especially important documents to shred, these types of options can make quite a bit of difference.

Although you may not consider the purchase of an office shredder to be the most important business decision of your day, there are numerous options and benefits to today's shredders. When making your purchase, always bear in mind how and why your shredder will be used. When chosen well, an office shredder can save you time, money, and legal problems down the road.