In today’s modern and information-savvy world, one of the largest and most expensive crimes is the crime of identity fraud. With this, some people are able to gain access to personal and corporate records, and from there steal intellectual property, passwords or gain control over IT systems and bank accounts. People and corporations alike have spent billions of dollars to combat this crime, purchasing highly complex security systems, employing specially trained personnel and building secure vaults just to safeguard this information. This problem however has a simple solution that has always been there – the paper shredder.

Intimus paper shredders offer the best value over more commercialized shredders sold over retailers such as Wal-mart and Staples. There are many types of paper shredders designed to protect different kinds of users. These shredders offer many unique features designed for utmost security. There are several paper shredder categories, each for different uses, and each with its own level of security and volume handling. How do you know which one you fall under, whether for your personal use or for business?

The most basic category is shredding for personal and small-time commercial use. Under this category, paper shredders are smaller in size and more user-friendly.
Intimus shredders offer up to 20 different varieties under this category.
They can shed in smaller quantities compared to industrial-grade shredders, up to 12 sheets at a time. They also have minimal power consumption and noise levels, for those with a keen eye for cost effectiveness. Some shredders can also shred CDs or DVDs and other types of multimedia.

The second category is for bigger corporations with shredding needs reaching hundreds of sheets a day. Instead of the usual slots where straight and unfolded paper is fed, these have use conveyor belt technology instead, where large volumes of paper and paper sheets in different forms, whether crumpled or folded, can be placed. Intimus shredders have about 10 varieties under this category. These also have greater cutting speed and power conservation features.

The third category is for users with more multimedia needs over paper needs. These types of shredders can get rid of CDs, DVDs, diskettes and even cassette tapes very thoroughly. They can accommodate thicker media and are shock-resistant.

The last category is for optimal security, design to cut paper in the most complex and untraceable bits. This represents Intimus shredder’s top category. These shredders can cut paper into thousands of pieces, up to 6000 pieces for a single sheet, making it nearly impossible for the possible thief to form them once again. These also have high cutting speeds with many available accessories.

Overall the best shredder will come for you depending on the type of use you foresee. Just be mindful that sometimes retail-grade shredders may not be as cost effective, so be sure to do your research.

A paper shredder is an equipment that cuts paper up into strips or fine particles. Shredders are used mainly by government offices, businesses and private persons to destroy their respective documents which are considered to be very confidential, private and sensitive.

In the past, the United States Embassy in the country of Iran minimized and destroyed important papers and documents by using a strip-cut paper shredder prior to the embassy take-over in 1979. Generally, the use of paper shredding machines was scarce for most non-government offices. However, after the Supreme Court of the United States decided that the Fourth Amendment does not forbid search and seizure of trash or garbage left for collection or pick-up without a warrant. Paper shredding machines gained popularity amongst US citizens who want to safeguard their privacy. Greater demands for said equipment increased due to landfill concerns, identity theft, anti-burning laws and industrial espionage.

Shredders come in various types, sizes and price depending on the need for cutting a few pages or for tearing millions of documents. A normal or ordinary paper shredder is powered by electricity; the ones that are not power-driven by electricity consist of a special kind of scissors which has multiple blade pairs and shredders that are manipulated by the hand. The classification of these machines depends primarily on the size and shape they generate.

The least secure is the strip-cut shredder which employs knives that rotate to cut strips that are narrow, and which are as long as the original sheet of the paper being shredded. The resulting strips from this type of shredder can be reassembled by a patient and unwavering opponent or rival; since the shredded form is not very randomized. Further, a lot of waste is likewise generated from this kind of shredder since the chad is not compressed and possesses a large surface area.

Confetti-cut or cross-cut shredders utilize two contra-rotating drums to sever the paper into diamond-shapes, lozenge shapes, parallelogram and rectangular shreds. The particle-cut shredder produces circular and tiny square pieces. Granulators and disintegrators continuously cut papers in an unsystematic manner till the particles are sufficiently tiny to pass through a mesh; while the Hammermills pound paper through a screen. The Pierce and Tear Rotating blade on the other hand puncture the paper then tears it apart, while the Grinders, which have a rotating shaft with cutting blades, break up paper until they are tiny or small enough to pass through a screen.

An innovative paper shredder must feature safety, efficiency and convenient characteristics that are generally jam proof, has safety sensors, has noise reduction, is energy-saving and cuts back on the production of mess.

Most jobs nowadays can be done away from the traditional four corners and walls of the office. And this includes paper shredding. Outsourcing is not a new thing since it has been in the business industry for quite some time. Shredding can be done on-site with the use of a commercial shredder in the form of mobile shredder trucks or off-site where the documents or papers to be destroyed are brought to a particular shredding facility.

The mobile shredder truck is tuck that resembles a box which contains a paper shredder of industrial size that is generally situated in the front of the tuck near the cab section. The box generally is compartmentalized into two parts: the area for shredding equipment and the payload section for storage of the cut-up materials. Said trucks have the capacity to shred eight thousand pounds (8000 lb) or three thousand six hundred kilos (3600 kg) of paper in an hour.

The storage capacity of the shredding trucks are from six thousand to fifteen thousand pounds (6000 to 15000 lb) or two thousand seven hundred kilos to six thousand eight hundred kilos (2700 to 6800 kg) of shredded materials. Office paper is the usual stuff being shredded in commercial shredder trucks, but clients at times require the tearing up of credit cards, CDs, DVDs, uniforms and hard drives that add to the risk of security concerns over information theft.

An off-site commercial shredder normally set up bins which are filled up and emptied at regular intervals. This has a potential risk since the papers and documents have to pass through more than one person and travel some distance, which provides a lot of time for information to be stolen prior to the actual destruction of the legible pages. Some shredded materials are sent for recycling to paper mills, and as distance need to be traveled from the source of the material to the shredding facility, environment issues have risen with regards to the trucks’ fuel consumption and increase emission of carbon while in route to its destination.

Having a compost bin for healthy plants that surrounds the home have the benefits of organic matter produced by shredded brush and leaves. A chipper shredder does not only supply organic matter for a healthy environment but also assists in cleaning yards of leaves and twigs. The handiness of having a chipper machine is that a number of local ordinances do not allow leaves and brush to be thrown in landfills.

So, prior to buying a chipper, you must have a plan on how and where to use it to maximize its advantage. The types and size of the chipper will depend on your actual needs. Shredders which are small can be purchased in versions of electric or gasoline powered. The grinding of small branches will necessitate a chipper shredder that is mechanically-driven by gasoline along with wheels for the convenience of mobility. Aside from considering the area of your yard, consideration must likewise be given to the kind and number of trees that needs to be maintained.

A chipper shredder has built-in hinged steel blades that rotate at a very high rpm or revolution per minute. The blades are called flails which chop up twigs and leaves. Leaves raked into the shredder via a changeable ramp. All processed materials are either discharged in the ground or into a bag. Chopped leaves are filtered through a screen. Materials which do not pass through the screen are re-circulated in order to achieve a finer size of shred. Screens come in various sizes and can be adjusted to the desired fineness of the materials. Screens can be cleaned easily as they normally clog up, especially if the leaves are wet. The end products of wet leaves are used and good for composting.

Larger branches of trees can be chipped at more handy sizes. The capacity of said machine depends on the model being considered for purchase. Most homeowner units have the capacity to shred to cut branches that have a thickness of up to three inches.

Branches are chipped by one or more built-in chipper blades or knives made of steel. The branches are reduced by the rotating blades into portions. The efficiency of the chipper shredder relies on the number of blades it has. The size of the material a chipper can normally handle is shown by the chute size. Materials are pushed into the chipper chamber by using a tamper. Like any other equipment of value, the chipper needs to be maintained by changing its blades or sharpening them occasionally.