With fraud and identity theft on the rise, document shredding is being considered now more than ever, by many personal as well as commercial users.
New Features
The requirement for efficient shredding machines grew so fast in the last decade that manufacturers continue to improve their products based on the expanding document shredding needs of their clients. Each one tried to outdo each other by adding more features in terms of machine efficiency, ease of operation, energy savings, and even waste disposal!
Today’s paper shredders come with a variety of different features, making shredders more convenient and effective than ever.
– Newer models now have added features to detect the thickness of the feed and sound an alarm if its capacity is exceeded, instead of just jamming up. This way, the user can adjust the amount of paper fed into the machine and be able to use the machine continuously without much delay.
– Sometimes users are just too careless in using the shredder. The manufacturers added a feature that turns itself off or sets an alarm when a foreign object (like the hand of the operator) is too close to the paper feeder for safety.
– Doing document shredding inside an office used to disrupt the activities of people inside the office because of the noise it makes. The manufacturers added a silencing feature that will reduce the noise produced while shredding.
– The latest document shredding machines now come in energy-saving models, to cut down on electricity. The machine turns itself off or puts itself in idle mode, when not in use.
– Mess decrease – The latest document shredder features an automatic signal to let the user know that it is time to empty the bin where the paper shreds are collected. The machine will re-start after it senses that the bin collector has been emptied.
– Accepts variable feeds – The document shredding machine shreds not only papers now, but can also shred CDs, Credit and Debit cards, old ID cards, and other forms of plastic stuff can carry lots of confidential information. Shredding them even after erasing the contents makes sure the contents can never be recovered. Some paper shredders come with special slots and choppers that can destroy CDs, plastic cards, as well as cassette tapes.
– Latest model cuts the paper twice (lengthwise and crosswise) to make sure information is irretrievable.
With all new features added regularly, it may not be surprising if someday the machine comes equipped with a camera that takes a photo of the person who last shredded the documents. AHA! More information and resources can be found on the Shred-it website.
