No business can keep all of the paperwork that it accrues over the years, and so there comes a point where you need to get rid of some of it. However, anything that is sensitive needs to be disposed of in a safe way to avoid it falling into the wrong hands and that is why many people turn to document shredding.
It is important to remember that there are a number of different document shredding methods, so in this article, Rads Document Storage take a look at the different types on offer and find out which one is the most secure.
Strip-cut shredding
The type of shredding that most people are familiar with is called strip-cut shredding, and this is the type that tends to be found in your basic office shredder. It involves the paper being cut into long parallel strips by a number of different blades on the horizontal shaft.
These shredders tend to be cheap and readily available from almost any office supply store, and so whilst they may appear to be an economical solution, they are not a secure one. This is because the long strips can easily be reconstructed in order to restore whatever was on the document, although the narrower the strips are, the more difficult this process will be.
Cross-cut shredding
To combat some of the issues caused by strip-cut shredding, the method of cross-cut shredding uses vertical and horizontal blades to cut the paper into tiny squares or diamonds. This means a single sheet of paper can be cut into hundreds of pieces, making it a more secure option than strip-cut shredding, although it does not make it impossible to put the document back together again.
Particle-cut shredding
This method is also known as micro cut shredding as it grinds documents down into thousands of miniscule pieces. It is done using fine toothed blades to eliminate the possibility of piecing anything back together again.
Pierce and tear shredding
A shredder which uses the pierce and tear method uses multiple heavy-duty rotating blades in order to pierce and rip the paper apart. This allows for large amounts of documents to be destroyed at one time quite quickly and is also good for dealing with bulky material such as cardboard and thick binders.
These tend to be best suited for industrial purposes and are often used by shredding trucks when disposing of large documents that have been collected from a number of different sources. Due to the fact that they can shred cardboard boxes, they are also often installed in factories for getting rid of hard-wearing material.
The most secure shredding options
Both the particle-cut and pierce and tear shredding methods are considered to be the more secure options. This is because the documents are shredded into particles which are too small and complicated to ever be restored.
However, these shredders tend to be quite expensive, and so it is often a more economical solution to look for a professional document shredding service who can do this for you. This allows the whole process to be undertaken confidentially by professionals who can ensure that your documents are all destroyed thoroughly and properly and that the subsequent materials are disposed of in a safe and environmentally friendly way.
By ensuring that any confidential or sensitive documents have been fully destroyed, you can not only earn the confidence of any customers or patients, but you can also ensure that your business is compliant with any data protection regulations. It is therefore important that when you look to shred your documents, you choose the method that will offer you and your customers the greatest levels of security.
Gavin Prior is the Operations Manager at Rads Document Storage, a secure facility based in Nottingham which provides professional document management services.
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