What are the Different Types of Paper Shredding?

From particle-cut shredding to cross-cut shredding, you can use different types of paper shredding to cut paper into different-sized pieces. Paper shredding that produces incredibly tiny pieces is considered the best when it comes to security levels.

While small businesses rely on a simple paper shredding type, large enterprises need a more advanced one to protect confidential data files.

In this blog post, you’ll learn about different types of paper shredding.

Different Types of Paper Shredding

Here’s a list of different types of paper shredding you can use:

1. Pierce Shredding

In this type of shredding, the paper is torn and ripped apart by multiple heavy-duty rotating blades as it passes through a large bin. Document shredders with pierce shredding functions are used in industries to destroy a large quantity of paper as quickly as possible.

In addition, shredding trucks use this method to dispose of large documents after picking them up from different sources. On top of that, this type of shredding also comes in handy when destroying more bulky materials, such as thick binders, cardboard boxes, etc.

2. Cross-Cut Shredding

In this type of shredding, horizontal and vertical blades are used to cut paper into tiny diamond or square pieces. Shredders with a cross-cut shredding function can cut a single A4-size paper into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Cross-cut shredding is one of the safest options when it comes to security levels. Shredders with cross-cut functions are widely available at an affordable price, making them a go-to choice for high-level security without spending much.

3. Strip-Cut Shredding

This type of shredding is also known as ribbon shredding. It’s the most common way of shredding documents, and it involves multiple blades to cut the paper into parallel strips. Due to their low cost, shredders with this type of paper shredding function are often used in offices for routine shredding tasks.

One thing to note is that strip-cut shredding is considered the least secure since there have been cases of highly confidential documents getting compromised through it.

Overall, it’s a great type of shredding when it comes to speed and efficiency, but it might not be suitable if you want to destroy sensitive documents.

4. Particle-Cut Shredding

Also known as particle-cut shredding, it involves fine-toothed blades to grind documents into several tiny pieces. This type of shredding destroys documents so that it is impossible to reassemble them. This feature makes it the most secure and reliable shredding option out there.

However, shredders with particle-cut shredding functions are not easily affordable for the average consumer due to their massive cost. That’s why these shredders are mainly used by those dealing with highly sensitive information regularly, such as financial institutions and government entities.

Wrapping Up

There are various types of paper shredding you can use to destroy unwanted documents securely. While some are affordable but insecure, others are efficient, reliable, secure but expensive. If you’re unsure about what type of paper shredding you should consider, look at the paper shredding types mentioned above to choose the one that suits your requirements.