Paper shredding is one of those essential processes that you might rely on every day but not really pay much attention to. However, it actually has an interesting history that dates back more than a century. To us today, paper shredding is a key way to protect data, ensure legal compliance and maintain standards of trust and credibility with clients. However, the first every paper shredders actually had some fairly revolutionary origins.
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The first-ever patent for a paper shredder was filed in in America and was based on a hand-operated pasta-making machine. Although the design never actually made it off the page it inspired the industry that followed and developed into the advanced technology that we rely on today. History tells us that the first paper shredder to be made was produced by Adolf Ehinger in Germany in the s he used it to destroy the anti-Nazi propaganda he was creating to help avoid being caught by the authorities.
The first paper shredders operated on a very similar basis to a pasta machine. A single sheet of paper would pass through the shredder and blades would cut it into strips. Initially, it was felt that this would be sufficient to ensure that the documents could not be reassembled and accessed after the shredding process had taken place. However, over the years criminals have become more sophisticated when it comes to accessing data and information and so methods of destruction have been forced to evolve too. Today, the more advanced version of shredding technology not only shreds documents into strips but also destroys each of the strips with an automated mechanism. This means that its virtually impossible to get access to the contents of the documents once the shredding process has taken place.
As the demands on paper shredding have become more onerous the industry has begun to evolve in response. For example, regulation such as the GDPR has meant that businesses need to be able to rely on document destruction and to be able to show a clear chain of custody for paperwork that might contain sensitive or personal data. As a result, shredding on-site now ensures that documents are destroyed before they leave the premises. Before each scheduled destruction takes place these documents are kept in lockable containers to provide peace of mind where security is concerned. Shredding has also enabled businesses to improve commitments to environmental standards. Its much easier to recycle paper that has been shredded and many shredding partners will ensure that shredded waste goes straight to a recycling centre and doesnt end up contributing to the increasing landfill issue.
From the early days of the pasta machine prototype to a fully secure and reliable document destruction service that is crucial to compliance, shredding has come a long way. The industry will continue to evolve to keep pace with technological evolution and to meet the needs of clients as and when they change.
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Today, most people are familiar with the practice of paper shredding. It is even common to find a consumer-grade shredder in most homes these days. However, in the grand scheme of things, paper shredders are a relatively modern invention. In the few decades since theyve become widely available, theyve become one of the greatest tools in fighting fraud and identity theft.
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The first US patent for a paper shredder was issued in to Abbot Augustus Low of New York . The invention never went very far and was never marketed. The first marketing of an electric paper shredding machine started in Germany in the s. Adolf Ehinger sold the devices to governments during the cold war. The company still sells shredders to this day.
The use of shredders for destroying documents was largely in the realm of governments until recently. Over the years, most companies have also become more interested in protecting their internal information. In , the Supreme Court ruled that anything left out in a trash was not protected and is considered public property. This only served to increase the use of dumpster diving for stealing company information. To protect themselves, business now hire shredding services to prevent the disclosure or leakage of private information.
The ease of getting credit since the s has made the practice of identity theft more common. The irony is that while much of the fraud is committed online, the source of the data is usually offline. To protect their information many people have purchased shredders to destroy financial information before it is thrown out. The evolution of shredders began as a necessity for governments and businesses, but ended up in many residences as well.
The scourge of identity theft has also resulted in state and federal legislation to prevent information from leaking out of businesses. This takes the form of laws requiring shredding. The two biggest federal laws are FACTA and HIPAA that regulate the credit industry and the health care industry respectively. This has led most business to need a paper shredding service to economically deal with the destruction of customer information.
There are several types of paper shredders. The smallest shredders use blades to cut the paper. This can be in the form of strips or squares. There are several trade names including micro-cut and confetti-cut but this is just a synonym for a shredder that cuts in two directions. These work well for small jobs of only a few pages, but the technology does not scale well.
Industrial shredders use several different technologies. Grinders use multiple rotating blades to grind the paper down. When it is small enough it falls through a screen to guarantee standardized particle sizes. Hammermills use a mechanical hammer to pound the paper through a screen. There are also shredders that use rotating blades to rip the paper apart. Grinders have the advantage of being able to shred materials other than paper, like hard drives and electronic media. All have the advantage of eliminating blades that will dull too quickly for high volume shredding.
The German Institute for Standardization sets the standard for shredding particle size. There are 6 levels of security they recognize. The largest, level one is 12mm strips. Level 5 is considered top secret by the department of defense. The specification calls for particles no more than 0.8mm by 12mm. The generally accepted standard for commercial document shredding are particles of less than 9.5mm in diameter. This should be the baseline for any shredder purchase.
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