Are you looking for a new shredder? No matter whether you are looking for one for personal use or for your office, finding the right shredder is essential in helping you to keep your data secure. However, with so many different products on the market, how do you know which is the right machine for your needs? 

We thought we would take a closer look at some of the key factors that you should consider when looking for a new shredder. 

One of the most important factors that you should consider is the size of the paper that the machine can handle. You will need a solution that is able to easily shred the sizes of paper that you most frequently need disposing of.

While the vast majority of waste will be letter size, you might occasionally require a slightly larger item to be shredded, so you want to ensure your shredder meets your needs. While a smaller shredder might seem more attractive due to its pricing, if it is not able to meet your demands, then it will require you to fold each item before shredding, which can take a long time. 

Alongside the overall size of paper that it can take, you also want to consider the load size that the shredder can take. If you are only going to be shredding a few pages at a time, then this is not going to be a major concern. However, if you regularly need to shred a large number of pages at once, you might want to opt for a solution that can take a far larger load size. 

Another major consideration when trying to find the right shredder to meet your demands is the style of cut that it offers. While traditionally shredders would just cut your documents into single straight lines, this is no longer the case. While these vertical cuts help to dispose of your documents, they can be pieced back together with enough time.

That is why cross cuts are now becoming some of the most popular solutions on the market, thanks to the enhanced privacy that they offer. This style of machine cuts your documents into far smaller pieces, making them significantly harder to piece back together. There are even more advanced solutions on the market that can offer micro-cutting, making it impossible to put shredded documents back together. 

Speed is also an important factor that you should consider when searching for a new shredder. These machines are designed to help save you time and effort, but if they take too long to shred, then this is a significant inconvenience.

You want to ensure that your shredder is not only able to quickly cut your documents but also does not have an overly long cooldown time.

If you are planning to use your shredder at home, then you want to ensure that it comes with key safety features to ensure that you and your children remain safe. The blades on these devices can be very sharp, so make sure you utilize a solution that features a cover over any sharp areas or has a sensor to detect fingers and hands. 

Finally, you also want to make sure that your chosen shredder has a large volume bin. The last thing that you want to have to do is stop midway through a job to empty the container because it is too full. This is particularly important if you are going to be regularly shredding large amounts of paper.