10 Questions You Should to Know about Primary Shredder

Protecting yourself and your business against identify fraud is one of the primary motivations for buying a shredder.

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Whether you are a business or consumer, read our buying guide before buying a paper shredder to ensure that you ask the 10 questions that will ensure you’re buying the right shredder to combat identify theft.

This is really important but is often overlooked, especially by businesses.  The profile of the people using the shredder has a huge bearing on the type of documents that they will be shredding.

Home users will want to shred bank statements and any document detailing personal information that they wish to shred and recycle whereas others such as accountants, lawyers or medical practitioners may have confidential documents that simply need to be destroyed.  These users will require a shredder with a higher security rating.

It’s important to select the correct security rating rather than simply shopping by cut type.  We always advise customers against shopping by cut type.  Whilst cross cut and confetti cut shredders do generally shred a document into more pieces than a strip cut shredder it is the number of pieces that a shredder cuts a single document into that is far more important to consider.  Our security level overview explains all you need to know to sleet the best shredder.

If the shredder will be used in a multi-user environment additional security features such as lockable bin chambers may also be important security considerations.

We try to help customers seeking to protect themselves by segmenting our range into groups suited for personal & executives, small offices, large offices, departmental, wide entry for A3 sheets, auto feed shredders and jam free shredders.  Our shredder selector tool will help you select the right type of shredder for you.

If a shedder is going to be used frequently it is likely that it will also be shredding more paper.  Customers aware of their shredding volume often shop for larger bin capacities as they want to avoid need to frequently empty their shredder bin.

Take care to shop by shredder bin capacity in terms of sheets, not just litres.  Shopping by sheets stored in the bin is much more useful and accounts for cut types which cut documents into smaller pieces and shredders that compact the shredded paper to increase storage.

The bin size is the single largest driver of the size of the shredder.  Rexel shredders deploy some clever design tricks to keep the bulk of the unit to a minimum.  We find that compact units are generally preferred by home users where the shredder footprint is more of a concern.

It is always best to shop by sheets stored in the bin rather than bin size alone.  Shredders shared by multiple users will generally generate more shredding and so a bin size of 600 sheets or at least 80L is generally recommended for shredders serving more than 10 users.

This depends upon the document being shredded.  Any shredder that does not shred an A4 sheet at least 35 pieces is not worthy of being considered a shredder, it’s just not fit for purpose in this day and age.

Our shredder rating guide provides a guide per type of document. 

At Rexel we recommend the following security levels:

The motor of a paper shredder generates heat.  Good shredders feature a safety mechanism to shut a shredder down to allow it to cool before the temperature rises too high.  We refer to the length of time that a shredder will run for before shutting down automatically as it’s “run time”.

The longer the run time the more you can shred in one go.  Customers that tend to shred in batches often become frustrated with poor run times and later upgrade to a model with superior run time.

Customers tend to be less concerned with the cool down time but this is still an important factor to consider when assessing overall productivity.

It’s important to assess the speed of a shredder as a function of the cutter speedand its sheet capacity.  Are you actually more interested in how many sheets you can shred in the least amount of time, rather than pure motor speed?

Look for shredders offering more than 10 manual sheet capacity at 80gsm if you are a frequent shredder.

Manual feed shredders become immediately more time consuming than auto feed shredders once more than a few sheets need to be shredded.  Auto feed shredders allow more sheets to be shredded at once as they accept a stack of paper and allow the user to walk away.  We refer to this as “hands-free” shredding.

Just like any device with a motor, paper shredders require care and maintenance.  Shredding a shredder oiling sheet once in a while is an easy way of prolonging the life of your shredder cutter blades and it’s motor.  Shredders designed to serve large numbers of users, typically in offices, can feature automatic self-oiling.  These models look after themselves by taking a drop or two of oil from an oil refill bottles.

SVL contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.

In summary, the top 10 questions to ask before buying a new paper shredder are:

1. Who is going to use the shredder?
2. How frequently will the shredder be used?
3. How big does the shredder bin need to be?
4. How many pieces should a good shredder cut a piece of paper into?
5. How long do you need the shredder run for?
6. How fast do you need the shredder to shred?
7. How often are you willing to lubricate your shredder?
8. Are recyclable waste sacks available?
9. Who will you buy from?
10. Have you checked our own website for our latest offers?

The recycling business is varied by everything from supply to geographic differences. There are as many people making money recycling as there are ways to do it. Let BCA partner with you from the start and specify equipment that will help provide maximum success. We have breakdowns, proforma, and sources to help you.

An operator can swap out a modular head in an hour or two and remove knives for re-sharpening. Simply dropping a second head in with fresh knives is far more efficient than any other brand machine that typically requires a full day to change knives while the whole operation is down. BCA offers an extra modular head at a greatly reduced price when ordered with the equipment.

Yes, BCA Industries ships shredders nationwide, including throughout Illinois (IL), as well as internationally. We have delivered products to multiple locations across the U.S. and 5 international destinations. We offer safe and reliable delivery wherever you are.

BCA Industries offers a one-year limited warranty on all shredders, covering defects in manufacturing, materials and assembly for customers in Illinois (IL) and beyond. This warranty starts on the date of delivery and applies only to the original purchaser. It does not cover damage from misuse, abuse or unauthorized repairs.

Yes, in addition to the one-year limited warranty, BCA Industries provides a lifetime warranty on shredder frames. This warranty covers defects in manufacturing, materials and assembly and lasts for the life of the shredder. The warranty applies to customers in Illinois (IL) and all other locations but does not cover damage from misuse, abuse or unauthorized repairs.

Yes, BCA offers flexible leasing options for businesses wanting to try a shredder before committing to a long-term investment. Choose from short-term or long-term leases based on your business needs.

Many differences in BCA shredders are huge advantages for recycling operators such as "true portability" saving transport and handling, proprietary "Modular Head Systems" to reduce downtime costs, made in America quality at prices below cheaply made imports, hydraulic motors for more durability and power, 5" multi keyed shafts for no wash-out, full system design with 3D modeling, full custom options and always lighter weight using less power and footprint than any competing models. Your costs will always be lower with a BCA system from start-up to full operation.

Yes. BCA has finance options and leases through vendors familiar with the industry to help you. BCA equipment also enjoys excellent resale should you move up in size or capability later.

A tipping fee is what a supplier pays you to pick up his scrap tires. It varies from about $1 to $5 and some states have programs whereby the state pays a fee as well.

A "truly portable" is a shredder system that can be transported without a semi or special oversized permit. The PD, TF, and TIF models by BCA are the ONLY such equipment offered for sale to the entrepreneur and recycling industry. From Bahrain to Panama to Canada they perform where needed.

Yes. Most disaster efforts utilize shredders that are enormous and mounted on semi-trailers. A "truly portable" like the PD can clear roads of debris and get to remote areas to shred and clean-up assist faster than any other type.

Primary shredding allows a tire or other material to go through the knives once and the derived shred is larger and longer than if the shred is recirculated through a trommel screen and reduced to a smaller measured chip. The secondary chip can be more useful and priced higher than the primary.

TDF stands for "tire-derived fuel" and is sought by power companies, concrete companies, etc. to be used as fuel. TDF is made of a secondary shred of a specific size required by the buyer of the chip.

Listed on this site are many sources in the Recycling Applications section but RMA.org and Scrap Tire News are good places to start.

It starts with a simple question "what material am I trying to reduce and for what eventual purpose or market"? It ends with an approved BCA design or model specified for your application and delivery date. Let the BCA staff make it simple.

Yes, BCA Industries ships shredders nationwide, including throughout Illinois (IL), as well as internationally. We have delivered products to multiple locations across the U.S. and 5 international destinations. We offer safe and reliable delivery wherever you are.

Yes, BCA Industries provides complete installation and training services for all our shredders. After delivery to locations across Illinois (IL) or beyond, our technicians can handle setup, offer operational training and review safety and maintenance procedures.

BCA Industries offers both short-term and long-term leasing options, as well as financing plans for stationary and portable shredders. After approval, we will ship the machine, so you can start shredding right away.

We offer a one-year limited warranty on all shredder units, plus a lifetime warranty on shredder frames. This covers defects in manufacturing, materials and assembly, excluding damages from misuse or unauthorized repairs.

To keep your shredder in top condition, we recommend scheduling regular inspections and servicing every six months or based on your usage.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Primary Shredder.