Paper Shredders - protecting your identity from prying eyes.

Paper Shredders are now a vital tool for the protection our financial information, documents and identity data in the home and office. The theft of ID information and financial information is endemic. Our homes generate plenty of waste paper from children's homework to unsolicited post. Add a home office and the paper pile of useful decipherable information grows bigger. In order to protect sensitive and/or confidential information from getting in the hands of identity thieves, many people choose to shred a lot of this paper. Personal and small office paper shredders can do the job, but shredders have advanced dramatically to cater for all paper volumes, security levels and budgets.

Dahle can help find the best balance of price, features, and performance so you buy the shredder that does the job; a paper shredder that is covered by a 2 year guarantee for mechanical operation plus 5 years on the cutting blades. Here are some terms that are used to define shredders with active links that will take you to the products or more information.

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Strip-Cut Paper Shredders

Strip-cut shredders, also known as straight-cut shredders, slice the paper into long thin strips. Strip-cut shredders generally handle a higher volume of paper with lower maintenance requirements than cross-cut shredders. Shred size can vary from 1/8 to 1/2 inch; with the narrower strips providing better security. Strips don't compress too well, however; so a large bin or more frequent emptying will be required. Also, unless you mix the contents of the bin, stripped paper tends to stay close to other strips of the same document, which reduces the security. If you risk information theft, maybe cross cut would be the better bet.

Cross-Cut

Shredders with a cross cut or cross cut shredders offer a more secure, slightly slower, method of shredding. More security is gained by cutting paper horizontally as well as vertically, effectively reducing paper into little more than confetti-like pieces. Shredded paper will compress better in the bin, and fall at different rates. So, not only will you be able to shred more before emptying, but putting a document back together that has been cross-cut will be practically impossible. There is a slight trade-off, in that these shredders may require more maintenance and generally cost more; also, cross-cut shredders tend to shred slower and take less paper per feed than straight-cut shredders due to their more secure shredding method. It should be noted that given enough time and effort (see the FBI on TV), any shredded document can be pieced back together, but a cross-cut shredder will make that very hard to do. Have a look at all the available security levels here.

Volume/Capacity

It's easy to burn out a shredder by overworking it. For low-volume users, personal shredders are fine; capable of shredding 100-150 sheets per day. If you need to shred more than that each day, consider a larger shredder with a bigger capacity per feed, so that you can shred multiple sheets at once rather than feeding each individual one into the shredder. We advise that most shredders cope best with one or two sheets less than their recommended capacity.

Office Shredders

The Dahle shredder range includes office shredders for small and medium size business for single work stations, shredders for departments (departmental shredders) and for the home and home office (SOHO) shredders for home and small office home office. Larger industrial size shredders complete the range.

Shredders by Security

Security levels determine the safe destruction of the documents and CDs. The old film images of criminals piecing together shredded paper are not far from the truth in the world of industrial espionage and newspaper scandals. Security Level 1 takes in the lowest levels of strip shredding - 30 shredded strips from an A4 sheet, Security Level 2 is for finer strip cutting - 50 shredded strips, Security Level 3 is cross cut and 400 shredded pieces and is the start of the higher security document destruction. Security Level 4 is for confidential documents with 2000 shreds, Security Level 5 for top secret at 6500 shreds from and A4 sheet, Security Level 6 for Government and military at 13,500 shredded pieces.

Shredders by Price range

Stuck with a fixed budget? You can see paper shredders broken into price ranges. The prices start in the range of £0-£199 mostly personal to small office ranges, £200-£499 for sme and desk sides in offices, £500-£999 larger offices, £1000-£2999 for big departmental and higher security, £3000-£4999 for top security and industrial shredders in the £5000+ category.

Big Volume and Industrial

If you want to save on the cost of visiting shredding services and cut the risk of your documents ending up blowing round a land fill - but you have a lot of documents to shred.. try these big volume shredders. You can sell the cut paper to waste paper collectors or even make money for charity. You have the absolute knowledge that the documents will not fall into the wrong hands if you see them going into a high volume high security shredder.

Throat

Linked to capacity, the throat is the opening where you feed the paper into the shredder. This needs to be large enough to accommodate the size of paper you're usually shredding, obviously. Smaller throat sizes may require you to fold paper before inserting it for shredding. Every shredder has an icon showing feed size so you can see at a glance the width of the paper.

Safety Features

A new innovation, unique to Dahle is the CleanTEC Shredder range. This is a dust free shredder that filters the dust from the exhaust air issued during the shredding process. Read more about the Dahle CleanTEC system here and watch the Dahle CleanTEC video here.

CleanTEC builds on the integral safety features that already make Dahle an industry standard and a specified shredder for Local Govenment and Education. Modern paper shredders are very sophisticated pieces of equipment and all have basic safety features built in. DAHLE Safe Technology provides unprecedented safety for you and your data. Equipped with acoustic switch-off function, automatic paper volume detector and visual oil service indicator, DAHLE Clean Technology stands for intelligent document shredder know-how. Benefit in three ways from enhanced safety:

• Acoustic Switch Off - in an emergency just SHOUT! at the shredder or bang the case and it will stop instantly
• Paper Volume warning - feed in too much paper and the LED light bar will give you a visual warning
• Oil Indicator - running low on oil is not an option with this safety feature. Visual warning and the shredder ceases to work until the reservoir is filled.

greater operating convenience and optimum performance. With a light barrier for automatic start/stop and user friendly electronics. Motor cuts out when waste bag is full and door is open. Dahle Safe TEC is the registered safety mark of Dahle and denotes shredders with extra safety technology.

Extra Features

Shredders come in all shapes and sizes, some with various combinations of features. With automatic start/stop, the shredder detects the presence of paper. Some shredders will have a light or buzzer to alert you to paper jams or a full bin. Reverse feed is great for helping to clear paper jams. Clear bins will allow you to see how full a bin is.

CDs and DVDs

Given the value of stolen data, it would be better practice to destroy CDs and DVDs when they have been used. Often they end up in drawers and filing cabinets and then loose their identity. An information thief does not care if the data is a bit out of date. they will take anything from bins, drawers and briefcases. These shredders will destroy CDs and DVDs fast and capture the waste away from the paper.

Mobile Shredders

Not often obvious but paper shredders need to be moved around the office or to the convenient location (store room) so the shredding can be done away from work stations. All our mobile paper shredders are listed here so you can choose in the knowledge that you won't have to lift the shredder from place to place.

Integrated Units

Shredders with built-in-bins or racks for plastic bags generally cost a little more than other versions, but they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some units may include an extra opening for inserting paper that doesn't need shredding, or a see-through window to check the paper level. The problem with these units however, is that you're usually limited to a specific size of bin.

Stand-alone Units

This type of paper shredder fits on most standard size bins. Featuring expandable sides, you can adjust the shredder for different width bins. These tend to be the least expensive units also. For the greatest flexibility, look for a unit that fits both round and rectangular bins of various sizes.

If you can't find what you are looking for just call on 01733 405112 or 0800 074 7234 or use our contact form and we'll cheerfully find you the product that will suit your needs.