- Recycling, Shredding and Rendering Documents Unreadable, There is a Difference
- Shred Size / Particle Size is Important
- Strip Cut, Cross Cut, Rotary Grind
- Purge Campaigns, Eliminate Non-Essential Documents
- Certified Destruction
- On Going Document Recycling and Shredding
- HIPPA, Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach Bliley and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
- Hard Drive Destruction, Degaussing and Computer Recycling
- About Us
Strip Cut, Cross Cut, Rotary Grind
There are three widely used methods for commercial shredding companies to process unneeded paper, files, and documents. It is important to understand each method when implementing your document destruction program.
Strip cut machines are among the most common in the market place. They are a single process machine where paper is run through a line of cutting blades. The process produces long strips of paper that can vary greatly in width and length. The machines are very fast and can produce a lot of material quickly, making it a favorite in the shredding industry. The shred size is typically large and offers the lowest security for your files and documents. These machines are difficult to adjust, or have a fixed shred size and therefore provid very little flexibility.
Cross cut machines are strip cut machines with a second set of cutting blades. The material is first cut vertically and then horizontally during the process. The shred size is determined by the space between the blades of both sets of cutting knives. These machines have fixed spaces between the cutting blades and can produce a very wide range of shred sizes. The faster the machine the larger the shred size produced. Security of your documents depends on the shred size that the cutting blades produce.
Rotary grind machines use a type of a ram to push paper against a spinning cylinder with knives set at different angles. This process produces particles with irregular sides and shapes. The size of the particle depends on the screen that the material is sorted through before it is allowed to go into a bailer. Material is ground and cut against the cylinder until it is able to fall through the screen. The larger the screen size the lower the security level is, but material can be processed at a very fast rate. Some large particles may fall through the screen because they have been crumbled and compressed by the ram and cylinder interface. When this happens the paper could unravel and create particle sizes much larger than the screen size. The smaller screen sizes have longer production times but have higher security levels. Screens can be changed to produce different particle sizes but commercial shredding companies typically have only one screen size.
The J. D. Carton & Son team is ready to help you set up a document destruction program, or to help modify the program you have in place. It starts with a brief meeting to discuss your goals and wishes. We will perform a free evaluation of your current situation where you will learn what you are doing correctly and where you may want to consider getting help.