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Kensington Shredding Solutions - OfficeAssist™

Help make any office more secure and productive.

Why shred?

One of the primary motivations for buying a shredder is data protection. Although laptops are the biggest source of exposure, data breaches can also occur from the careless disposal of printed paper containing confidential information. Worth noting is that privacy regulations relate to electronic data as well as paper-based data, so it is important that organizations handle personal data carefully to avoid fines and legal action due to non-compliance.

Shredders help you:

Protect confidential business and personal data

Protect customer and client data

Comply with privacy legislation

Evade reputation damage, negative publicity, and costly expenses that could result from a data breach

Auto versus manual feed shredders:

Opting for an auto or manual feed shredder depends on a number of factors, including how quickly you want your shredding completed and whether you prefer to be more hands-on. Generally, higher sheet capacity shredders shred faster. Check the auto and manual shredder information below for help in making the right choice.

Auto feed shredders

Kensington's patented auto feed shredders allow users to load a stack of papers to be shredded, lock it until shredding is complete, and walk away. Depending on how much shredding you do, this can save hours of time and productivity versus manual shredding.

Auto Feed Shredders

  • OfficeAssist™ Auto Feed Shredder A6000-HS Anti-Jam Micro Cut
    OfficeAssist™ Auto Feed Shredder A3000-HS Anti-Jam Micro Cut
    OfficeAssist™ Auto Feed Shredder A1500-HS Anti-Jam Micro Cut
  • Auto Sheet Capacity
    Auto Sheet Capacity 600
    Auto Sheet Capacity 300
    Auto Sheet Capacity 150
  • Best For
    Best For Large Office
    Best For Small Office
    Best For Personal Office
  • Bin Capacity
    Bin Capacity 29 Gallons (110 Liters)
    Bin Capacity 15.8 Gallons (60 Liters)
    Bin Capacity 11.6 Gallons (44 Liters)
  • Bin Capacity in Sheets
    Bin Capacity in Sheets 1300
    Bin Capacity in Sheets 700
    Bin Capacity in Sheets 500
  • Dimensions
    Dimensions 40.67 in x 23.34 in x 20.07 in
    Dimensions 30.51 in x 18.30 in x 16.14 in
    Dimensions 24.29 in x 17.08 in x 14.37 in
  • Intelligent™ Power Save
    Intelligent™ Power Save Yes
    Intelligent™ Power Save Yes
    Intelligent™ Power Save Yes
  • Manual Sheet Capacity
    Manual Sheet Capacity 10
    Manual Sheet Capacity 8
    Manual Sheet Capacity 6
  • Noise Level
    Noise Level
    Noise Level 55 db
    Noise Level 55 db
  • Pin Lock
    Pin Lock Yes
    Pin Lock Yes
    Pin Lock No
  • Run Time
    Run Time 240 minutes
    Run Time 60 minutes
    Run Time 30 minutes
  • Security Level
    Security Level P5 - 1/16" x 9/16" (2 x 15mm)
    Security Level P5 - 1/16" x 9/16" (2 x 15mm)
    Security Level P5 - 1/16" x 9/16" (2 x 15mm)
  • Period of Warranty
    Period of Warranty 2 years
    Period of Warranty 2 years
    Period of Warranty 2 years

Manual feed shredders

While manual feed shredders require you to feed documents into them, they can still shred a high volume of sheets at once. Manual feed shredders also use the latest anti-jam technology and long run times to ensure seamless, uninterrupted shredding.

Manual Feed Cross Cut Shredders

Manual Feed Micro Cut Shredders

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why is a shredder important?
  • What is the difference between a cross cut or micro cut shredder?
  • How are shredders used for home use?
  • How are shredders used for office use?
  • How are shredders used for commercial use?
  • What is the best shredder for a small business?
  • Are cross cut shredders safe?
  • Is on-site or off-site shredding better?
  • Why should I trust Kensington?
  • How much are paper shredders?
  • What are the different types of shredders?
  • What are some good shredders for home use?
Why is a shredder important? Chevron Icon

According to Proofpoint, one-third of all U.S. adults have been affected by identity theft. Mail and documents that don’t get properly shredded are some of the most common culprits in ID theft, as they may contain personally identifiable information. They also trigger data breaches. In 2015, a Denver compounding pharmacy was fined $125,000 by federal regulators for improper disposal of unshredded records covered under HIPAA.

One of the primary motivations for buying a shredder is data protection. Although laptops are the biggest source of exposure, data breaches can also occur from the careless disposal of printed paper containing confidential information. Worth noting is that privacy regulations relate to electronic data as well as paper-based data, so it is important that organizations handle personal data carefully to avoid fines and legal action due to non-compliance.

What is the difference between a cross cut or micro cut shredder? Chevron Icon

Micro cut is a higher level of security than the cross cut – cutting your documents into up to 2000 pieces vs the cross cut of up to 400 pieces. The cut type for each is: P-5 Security Rating is micro cut at: 5/64” x 19/32” & P-4 Security Rating is cross cut at: 5/32" X 1 37/64"

  • Cross cut: Medium-sized particles, higher security, levels P-3 and P-4
  • Micro cut: Small particles, highest security, levels P-5 through P-7
How are shredders used for home use? Chevron Icon

Shredders are used at home to shred all personal, financial and confidential documents. While there are numerous similarities across shredders, the details matter. Evaluating the needs of your home will determine if you need a P-4 or P-5 shredder, an auto or a manual feed, or a 200- or 800-sheet capacity bin, for instance.

How are shredders used for office use? Chevron Icon

They are used in the office to shred all confidential documents. While there are numerous similarities across shredders, the details matter. Evaluating the needs of your business will determine if you need a P-4 or P-5 shredder, an auto or a manual feed, or a 200- or 800-sheet capacity bin, for instance.

How are shredders used for commercial use? Chevron Icon

Organizations continue to modernize their recordkeeping practices, not only by digitizing some, if not all, company records, but also by shredding many others. A commercial paper shredder is essential in this context. It can reliably dispose of any unneeded and/or sensitive documents, paper clips and all, plus it may destroy common in-office items such as posters, credit cards, and optical media (CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray Discs), too.

What makes for a standout commercial shredder? For starters, it will be much more powerful than a consumer-grade shredder, with the ability to tear through a large number of documents in a relatively short amount of time and render them completely unreconstructable. It may also contain differentiating features such as large sheet and bin capacities, anti-jam systems, and security PINs.

For commercial-grade shredding tasks, it’s prudent to use at least a P-4 (cross cut) shredder for adequate destruction. A P-5 shredder, which does micro cuts, provides even more peace of mind. The difference between a basic strip-cut shredder that might be purchased on Amazon and a commercial paper shredder like this Kensington model is stark. A micro cut shredder will cut an A4 piece of paper into more than ten times as many particles as a strip cut shredder.

What is the best shredder for a small business? Chevron Icon

The most cost-effective small option is a manual feed shredder that can be housed under a desk – and you can just shred a few documents at any one time. While there are numerous similarities across shredders, the details matter. Evaluating the needs of your business will determine if you need a P-4 or P-5 shredder, an auto or a manual feed, or a 200- or 800-sheet capacity bin, for instance.

The Kensington OfficeAssist Shredder M200-HS Anti-Jam Micro Cut shows what’s possible with a top-level commercial shredder, as it can run for 240 minutes continuously while micro cutting everything into P-5 particles. Paperclips and staples also don’t need to be removed before sheets are placed into this shredder’s manual feed, which can handle up to 15 sheets in a single pass.

Other models like the A6000 can also thoroughly shred much more than standard A4 office paper containing staples or paperclips. They can also take care of junk mail, credit cards, glossy documents, and optical discs.  Everything gets turned into 5/32" X 1 37/64" particles, as per its P-4 rating.

Even with this high level of performance, both the A6000 and other Kensington shredders have quiet motors that let them run comfortably with office environments. Employees can shred without having to worry about if they’re disrupting a busy work environment.

Are cross cut shredders safe? Chevron Icon

Yes, P-4 Security Rating - Cross-cut shredding turns paper into 5/32" X 1 37/64" pieces. Ideal for business confidential documents. For safe disposal of confidential records containing sensitive information, it’s generally advised to use at least a P-3 shredder. Cross cut and micro cut office shredders generate much smaller particles than strip cut shredders, making it less practical for anyone to interpret or reconstruct the shredded document. For example, A P-3 shredder cuts an A4 piece of paper into approximately 312 particles, vs only 36 particles for a P-1 shredder.

The general cut level breakdown is as follows:

  • Strip cut: Large particles, low security, levels P-1 and P-2
  • Cross cut: Medium-sized particles, higher security, levels P-3 and P-4
  • Micro cut: Small particles, highest security, levels P-5 through P-7
Is on-site or off-site shredding better? Chevron Icon

It is more cost-effective to shred on-site and you can control who is seeing the documents – many of the shredders have autolocks to protect your documents until the shredding is complete.

Why should I trust Kensington? Chevron Icon

Kensington is a division of ACCO Brands, Inc. with over three decades of being a profitable business. Kensington is a worldwide leader in physical security locks having sold over 30 million locks over the last 25 years. Data protection including Shredders is just an extension of its already thriving business of device security, privacy screens, biometric security and more. When you think about data protection think about Kensington as your first line of defense.

How much are paper shredders? Chevron Icon

Depending on whether it is manual or automatic and its features, a shredder can go from around $120 to $999.

What are the different types of shredders? Chevron Icon

Manual-feeding shredders require documents to be fed by hand in relatively small batches. In contrast, auto feeding models allow larger batches of paper to be inserted into a tray or compartment to be shredded without user assistance, freeing up the user’s time.

Shredders are also classified into different security levels, based on the size of the paper particles once a shredding operation is complete.

What are some good shredders for home use? Chevron Icon

For a home office, a relatively low security level shredder may be sufficient since there likely aren’t any stringent regulations in place and the documents being handled probably won’t be prime targets of thieves attempting to reconstruct them.