No matter if you’re a business, government office or average person, keeping confidential and sensitive information secure is crucial. And in many cases, it’s even a requirement for compliance. Using a document shredder is a key weapon in your security arsenal. But all shredders aren’t equal. They’re designed with specific security levels and shredder cut styles. Some are better for home use. Others are high security shredders that provide the highest level of protection required by government organizations.
Additional factors include items being shredded. Some higher security document shredders may not be designed to cut plastics like credit cards or CDs. Lower security shredders can also handle thicker stacks of papers because of the simplicity of the cuts. And if you’d prefer to empty the bin less often, higher security shredders create smaller cuts of paper that take up less space, so more documents can fit in the bins.
So what’s right for you? Here’s a simple guide to help you quickly and easily determine your perfect paper shredder.
| Cut Style | Security Type | Security Level | Shreds Per Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strip-Cut | Basic | P-2 | 40 |
| Cross-Cut | Secure | P-3 | 200 |
| Super Cross-Cut | Confidential | P-4 | 400 |
| Micro-Cut | High | P-5 | 2,000 |
| High Security | Top Secret | P-7 | 15,600 |
Strip-Cut Shredder - Basic (Level P-2)
The strip-cut is a basic shredder cut style that produces spaghetti-like strands. This is the lowest level of security and is used for shredding day-to-day junk mail and paperwork containing expired or non-sensitive information. A good amount of information can still be visible with a strip-cut, so it offers very little security. Because you likely will be shredding many other documents that contain more sensitive information, we don’t recommend this shredder cut type.
Shreds per page: 40
Cross-Cut Shredder - Secure (Level P-3)
Cross-cut document shredders have two sets of blades that shred paper both lengthwise and widthwise. This shredder cut style reduces the paper into small pieces instead of long strips. Level P-3 is meant for everyday paperwork, emails and reports containing nonsensitive personal information, so it’s often purchased as a shredder for home use.
Shreds per page: 200
Super Cross-Cut - Shredder Confidential (Level P-4)
This is the first shredder cut type that can be used on documents that contain sensitive personal information and business documents that contain proprietary information. A super cross-cut document shredder produces even smaller pieces than a cross-cut document shredder, offering greater security.
Shreds per page: 400
Micro-Cut Shredder - High (Level P-5)
Designed to shred confidential business documents that contain financial, strategic and sensitive personal information, this type of paper shredder is perfect for financial groups, law firms, medical practices and accounting firms. This shredder cut style produces even smaller pieces than super cross-cut, cutting paper into tiny bits.
Shreds per page: 2,000
High Security - Top Secret (Level P-7)
This high security shredder practically turns paper into dust. The resulting shreds are so miniscule that it's impossible to reassemble even a tiny portion of the original document. Designed for top secret government and military documents, this shredder cut style is the standard for government organizations that require the highest level of privacy and protection.
Shreds per page: 15,600