Friday, January 23, 2009

What Is Confidential Shredding?

By Hagen Dunkan

Confidential shredding of proprietary documents is a must for businesses and individuals as well. For large corporations, generally a professional shredding vendor performs this task. Most businesses designate an employee to observe the actual shredding, insuring that all documentation is shredded and witnessed. Some shredding vendors insist upon this. Others don't. If this is an important, be sure it's included in the contract or work order. Allowing a mobile shredding vendor to haul away confidential documents doesn't necessarily insure that they will, in fact, be shredded.

Confidential shredding in certain industries is inevitable. For instance: clients submiting financial information to accounting firms, both have to agree on how the financial information is disposed. In various mechanical, architectural or engineering companies where design is proprietary and often based on client information, confidential shredding is necessary for obsolete concepts.

By confidential shredding individuals can avoid identity theft. The personal shredder is the least expensive method of dealing with these security issues. There are many differences in shredder systems. In gerneral there are two types of paper shredders. The cross-cut shredder cuts paper both length-wise and width-wise, insuring so the maximum security for confidential documents. Another advantage is the reduced paper waste by reducing the volume of the shredded paper. With this shredder the confidential shredding includes als an easier disposal of the waste. In fairness it should be admitted that cross-cut paper shredders require more maintenance. These kind of shredders are generally preferable for more highly confidential documents where secure shredding is key.

The second type of shredder for confidential shredding is the strip cut shredder. A strip cut shredder shreds the paper length-wise, hence the name. With this type shredder, the disposal is more frequent and not very compact, but the strip-cut requires little or almost no maintenance.

Other features to be considered on confidential shredding are the number of pages that can be shredded at once. Check also the shredder manual as to whether the shredder also shreds other items like credit cards, CD-ROMs, DVD and stapled documents. The size of the shredder may also be important if space is an important consideration. And don't just throw away shredded paper. It can be safely used in differnt ways. If you're a handy crafter, it can be used in craft projects from pillow stuffing to making dolls. There are also several companies who purchase it at a reasonable rate.

Altogether confidential shredding is a routine and very important task for offices and businesses of every size. It's the only way to be sure about the disposition of your confidential documents. - 15359

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