Collection: Security Level 1 Shredding

DIN 66399 Security Level P-1 is the lowest paper destruction level in the standard. A P-1 shredder produces strip-cut particles with a maximum particle area of 2,000 mm² — typically strips around 12 mm wide running the full length of the sheet. Individual strips remain large and legible, and a determined person with time can reassemble a P-1 document.

We are direct about what that means: P-1 is for general printed material that carries no confidentiality value. Think superseded catalogues, internal notices, meeting handouts, draft printouts and old marketing collateral. It is a tidiness and recycling measure, not a data protection control. Do not use a P-1 machine for anything containing names, account numbers, health information, payroll data or commercial terms.

Buyers at this level are usually schools, print rooms, warehouses, retail back offices and workshops that shred high volumes of routine paper and care mainly about throughput, bin size and running cost. Strip-cut heads are the simplest and fastest cutting geometry, so P-1 machines tend to handle more sheets per pass and jam less than finer levels.

If any of your paper contains personal or commercial data, start at P-4 instead. Our complete guide to DIN 66399 shredder security levels explains each level and where the real boundaries sit.