MyBinding Knowledge Base
What items should I shred?
One of the main reasons why people buy paper shredders is so that they can prevent themselves from becoming victims of identity theft. If you already have a shredder, you’re probably wondering if you’re shredding the right things. What documents need to be shredded? In a nutshell, anything that has your identifying details (name, etc.) should be destroyed, along with paper containing financial information. That’s kind of a broad definition, so are here are five specific things you need to shred….
1.) Credit reports. Do you check your credit report every year and print it out? If so, shred it when you no longer need it instead of just recycling it. Your credit report is a treasure trove of information for identity thieves because it contains your name, address, the names of your creditors, and so on. That’s definitely information you want to keep private. And if you’re an employer, you’ll want to shred your employees’ credit reports as well. If you don’t you could find your company in violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act (FACTA) which can lead to lawsuits.
2.) Receipts containing your bank account number. These items have become less common over the years, but there are still times when you’ll receive a receipt that has this precious piece of information on it. To be safe, you should shred every receipt you get for check and credit/debit card transactions. Or, at the very least, you should look at them before tossing them to be sure there’s no account numbers printed on them.
3.) Tax and legal forms. After a certain amount of time has passed, you might want to consider shredding your legal papers and tax forms. Your tax returns contain a lot of private information including your Social Security number and details about your income, etc. That’s definitely not the kind of information you want to make available to the public. As for legal forms, they should definitely be shredded. These include divorce and adoption papers, bankruptcy forms, paperwork pertaining to a lawsuit, and so on.
4.) Medical and dental records. Shredding your medical and dental records is a good idea for a number of reasons. First, these items could have your Social Security number on them, as well as your contact information. Also, unless you enjoy having random people know all about your medical history, shredding these items just makes sense. (This is especially true if the records contain information about psychiatric conditions and other highly personal matters.)
5.) Anything – absolutely anything – containing your signature. Finally, it’s important to shred anything that contains your signature whether it’s a canceled check, a letter, or even a birthday card. It’s pretty easy to forge a signature and if someone does so, you can find yourself in a heap of trouble. So make sure to run all papers containing your autograph through your shredder just be on the safe side.
< 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)
