Help Center: Document shredders
What is the shredder used for?
Shredders are advanced devices designed for the disposal of all kinds of documents containing sensitive and confidential data. They are ideal for use in offices, offices and all kinds of institutions where compliance with the Personal Data Protection Ordinance (RODO) is crucial.
How does a document shredder work?
The shredders are equipped with a special and wide slot where the blades are located. After inserting a document into the slot, the paper is automatically fed further, where special blades, shred the data carrier. When the process is complete, the blades continue to work for a while to clean and ready for the next cycle of work. The cuttings or paper strips go into a container, which can be easily removed for emptying.
What features should a shredder have?
Any shredder should, above all, be safe during use. Wanting to make a purchase of this type of device, it is worth paying attention to whether it has functions, affecting the safety of the user. The most important function affecting the safety of the user, which the shredder should unquestionably have, is first and foremost the automatic stop of the blades, when a hand is detected. In turn, automatic detection of paper in the slot affects the convenience and safety of use. The sensor detects the paper in the slot and automatically feeds it further into the shredder blades. As a result, there is no need to hold and manually feed the media. Another important feature is the automatic shutdown of the blades when the document is destroyed, and the ability to reverse the movement of the blades, allowing you to pull out the disposed document if necessary. It is also worth noting whether the equipment has automatic stopping of the blades when an open container is detected, as this feature keeps things tidy.
What types of materials can be disposed of with a shredder?
Most office shredders allow you to dispose of several to even a dozen or more sheets of paper at a time. Shredder blades can also cope with documents clipped with paper clips or staples. There are also models on the market that offer to destroy CDs/DVDs and plastic cards, which significantly increases the range of applications.
What is the DIN standard?
Each shredder is marked with a so-called DIN standard, which is represented by the symbol P (P-5). The DIN standard was developed by the organization Standards Committee for Information Technology and Applications and specifies what level of confidentiality is maintained by documents processed by the shredder. The current DIN 66399 standard was introduced in 2012 and specifies as many as seven levels of document security. These levels are described by the symbol P and the next digit. The higher it is, the more accurately paper documents are processed and are more difficult to reproduce. Already the P-4 standard, which is the current standard, allows a sheet of A4 paper to be processed into a minimum of 400 small pieces, effectively protecting the information contained on it. Choosing a P-5 grade shredder, a sheet of A4 will already be processed into more than 2,000 small fragments. Which shredder should you choose in this regard? This depends on its purpose and the personal preferences of the user. Shredders with security classes up to P-3 will work well for processing documents in a domestic environment. Models with DIN levels P-4 and P-5 are the most optimal solution, which will be sufficient in all kinds of commercial enterprises, service companies, libraries and other public institutions. Class P-6 and P-7 are dedicated to institutions and government organizations, where hitting secret documents into the wrong hands could have particularly serious consequences.
