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Shredding documents is a part of any business. From old files to confidential papers, shredding is a must, but will a store-bought paper shredder do the job and what do the different security levels mean?

P-1 Shredders

P-1 shredders are at the lowest level of security available. Papers are shredded into 12 mm strips. They are considered to be DIN Protection Class 1 for paper shredder security ratings.

P-2 Shredders

P-2 shredders are slightly higher with security, but not high enough for confidential information. They’re shredded into 6mm strips. They are also in the DIN Protection Class 1.

P-3 Shredders

P-3 shredders are the lowest level of security for confidential information. This level gives them a mid-level of security. They are cross-cut, rather than cut into strips that measure 320 mm by 0.5 mm. They’re considered DIN Protection Class 1 or 2.

P-4 Shredders

While P-4 shredders are a little better than P-3 shredders for security, they are still a mid-level of security. However, they are safer for confidential information, like HIPAA. They are cross-cut into pieces 160 mm by 6 mm. They are under the DIN Protection Class 2 or 3.

P-5 Shredders

P-5 shredders are a very high level of security. These shredders are micro-cut into pieces measuring 1.27 mm by 0.5 mm. They fall under the DIN Protections Class 2 or 3 and are suitable for destroying confidential HIPAA information.

P-6 Shredders

P-6 shredders are a very high level of security. They are micro-cut into 1 mm by 10mm pieces. They are part of DIN Protection Class 3. These shredders are ideal for top-secret information, including some HIPAA information and even up to US Army Reg. 380-5 information.

P-7 Shredders

P-7 shredders are the highest level of security, making them the best for top-secret information. This works for destroying confidential NSA information. They are micro-cut into 1mm by 1.5 mm pieces. They are considered to be a DIN Protection Class 3 as well.

Professional Paper Shredding

As the information above shows, there are different levels of security in paper shredding and your average run-of-the-mill store-bought paper shredder is not going to give you the same level of security that you would get from hiring a shredding company to take care of it for you.

And, while you can get a shredder at a higher security level, they tend to come with a higher price tag and can only shred a few documents at a time.

Hiring a professional document shredding company can save you time, money, and give you the peace of mind that all of your documents are properly shredded.

At Federal Records Management & Shredding, you can count on your confidential information staying safe from the point that it leaves your hands until it is destroyed. Your business’s sensitive information will never get the chance to be stolen.

Federal Records Management and Shredding offer both onsite and offsite destruction of your company’s confidential information and your discarded confidential information is stored securely in our locked bins at your business until we take them off your hands to destroy them.

Our offsite shredding mixes a company’s confidential documents with documents from other companies so there isn’t a chance that anyone would be able to reconstruct the documents.

 

Contact us today to make sure your sensitive information is destroyed in the most secure way possible.