Paper shredder manufacturers often provide DIN Level information as part of their specifications – Why?
DIN stands for Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. or German Institute for Standardization. Like ISO and EN, DIN is an organization that develops standards for rationalization, quality assurance, environmental protection, safety and communication in industry, technology, science, and government, as well as the public domain. In relation to paper shredders, they have defined the different levels of security in DIN 66399 and it is the standard used industry wide.
Shredders are categorized into 7 different security levels. DIN P-1 being the least secure and DIN p-7 being the most secure. The classifications are assigned based on the waste particle the shredder produces. While many manufacturers offer units in a wide variety of DIN Levels, most focus only on two or three.
In the case of our partners at Intimus the two most common classifications are LEVEL P-4 – Particle Sizes not larger than 4mm x 36.5mm and LEVEL P-7 – Particle Sizes not larger than 0.8mm x 4.5 mm.
As a rule of thumb, most business can achieve the security they require with a LEVEL P-4 shredder, but certain Government Agencies and Military Offices are required to shred using a LEVEL P-7 device.
Because Level P-7 devices have much smaller gaps between the cutters, they are more expensive to produce are more prone to damage if not used and maintained properly. So we do not recommend LEVEL P-7 unless Top Secret security is required or mandated by the National Security Agency.
The graphics below show Level P-4 and Level P-7 shreds in relationship to a US Quarter and also list which Intimus units meet each classification.
