MyBinding Knowledge Base
What features should I look for in a shredder?
Buying and using a paper shredder is something everyone should do these days. Not only is identity theft fairly common, there are federal privacy laws certain individuals and entities must follow. When you purchase a paper shredder you have a lot of decisions to make. This is because there are a lot of shredders on the market and each one have a different set of features to offer. This article will fill you in on the most common features to help you determine which ones matter the most to you.
Cross-cut v. strip-cut. This feature has to do with how the device processes the paper. Strip-cut shredders turn documents into spaghetti-like strips and cross-cut shredders turn paper into tiny particles. Strip-cut scraps can be reassembled so this type of device isn’t the best for highly confidential information. Those machine do happen to be cheaper so they’re a good choice if you’re on a budget.
The ability to shred non-paper items. A lot of the smaller shredders available can shred credit cards, staples, and paper clips for your convenience. Shredding a credit card is much safer than cutting it up and tossing the pieces in the garbage. There are also multimedia shredders that can handle items as varied as CD’s and DVD’s, DAT tape, floppy disks, and more. (There are some small and medium-sized shredders can handle some of these things.) And if you need to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you can find a few machines that can easily destroy pill bottles and adhesive prescription labels.
Self-oiling or not. Every paper shredder needs to be oiled on a regular basis. With most of the smaller ones, you have to oil them manually. However, with largest machines (such departmental shredders), you can sometimes purchase automatic oilers for them. If you do end up with a device you need to manually oil, don’t be disappointed. Oiling is super easy and it doesn’t take long to do.
Safety features. Every paper shredder needs to have some type of safety feature. These machines are be very dangerous and can cause injuries even if you’re very careful. Some common safety features include interlock switches, automatic shutoff, and paper overfeed indicators. No matter which features your device has, make sure you exercise as much caution as possible when shredding.
A continuous-duty motor. If you’re going to be shredding a large amount of paper on a regular basis, you should get a machine with a continuous-duty motor. These devices can shred paper (and sometimes other items) non-stop and they don’t need to cool off. They’re perfect for busy offices.
< Over the years, a number of customers have asked me whether they can use twin loop wire with their plastic comb binding machine. These customers often don’t want to have to buy a brand new machine but like the look and feel of twin loop wire binding. However, the answer to their question isn’t as simple as it seems. You see, they actually do make twin loop wire that is designed to work with the plastic comb binding hole pattern. With that said, if you want to use these wires you are going to need a way to close the wires. What is Spiral-O Wire? Let me explain a little bit more…There is a product that we carry called Spiral-O Wire. This wire has 19 loops and is designed to work with the hole pattern from a plastic comb binding machine. Spiral-O Wire is sometimes called Wire Combs or Ibico Wire and was originally designed for use with some of the older Ibico binding machines. A number of the older Ibico plastic comb binding machines also included a twin loop wire closer on the front of them to allow users to use both plastic combs and wire. This 19 loop wire was designed for this purpose. What Equipment is Needed? As the Ibico brand has been phased out by GBC and all of the older Ibico plastic binding machines have been replaced with new models, they no longer have the twin loop wire closer on the front of them. This presents a problem in trying to use these spiral-o wires since you can’t use the wires without a way to close them. One of the only options left is to purchase a Twin Loop wire closer. However, since twin loop wire closers are not incredibly cheap this option usually only appeals to users who have larger electric plastic comb binding machines. Otherwise, it is often advisable to simply buy a low end 3:1 pitch twin loop wire binding machine (the supplies are cheaper). This being said, if you have one of the older Ibico binding machines that has a wire closer included you are in luck. The Spiral-O binding supplies that we carry will work perfectly with your machine and you will be able to use both plastic combs and wire depending on your needs. These Spiral-O binding supplies are available in Black, Silver, White, Blue and Red and in sizes up to 1″ in diameter. If you aren’t sure what type of wire binding supplies that you need to work with your machine simply give us a call. Our trained sales representatives will be glad to help you find the correct supplies for use with your machine.(Read More)
