A Beginners guide to finding Quality and Secure Filing Cabinets

Submitted by: stonehilloffice

Just as the name suggests, filing cabinets are special furniture units designed for filing important papers, storing files and documents in a methodical manner and keeping them secure under lock and key. A neatly organised filing system creates a positive feeling about any organisation.

Unlike other office furniture, filing cabinets come in very few styles. The two main types of filing cabinets offered by most office supplies companies in the UK are:

1. Vertical Filing Cabinets:

This is the traditional filing cabinet designed with two to ten drawers for storing letter or legal sized files. Here, the files are stored facing the front of the drawers. The drawers have depths ranging from 12 to 30 inches, while the width is usually 18 inches. For offices with little space, vertical filing cabinets are a better choice as they take less floor and wall space.

2. Lateral Filing Cabinets:

These filing cabinets come with much wider drawers as compared to the vertical ones, up to 42 inches. Here, files can be stored from front to back or side-to-side depending upon the filing structure. In a lateral filing cabinet, one can store files of both legal and letter size in the same drawer.

One more advantage of lateral cabinets is that one can easily access and view the stored files. Moreover, the storage capacity is about one third more as compared to the vertical filing cabinets. This filing cabinet is a better option for offices where limited wall space is not an issue.

Apart from the two types of filing cabinet mentioned above, there are two more popular furniture units that are used in offices for storing files and important documents. These are rolling cabinets and open shelving units.

A rolling cabinet has sturdy castors providing you with the option to move your files to wherever they are required. This is very useful if yours files are required in more than one location, or you wish to easily change your workspace.

On the other hand, open shelving systems have open shelves placed side by side and on top of one another. These open front shelves are simple in design and less expensive.

Things to consider before buying a filing cabinet

Before buying an appropriate filing cabinet for your office, it is essential to know a few essential things like:

- The number of drawers of the cabinet, and their width and depth.
- The floor space where you want to place the filing cabinet.
- The overall size of the cabinet, you don't want to buy something that might look lot out of place.
- Enquire about the maximum weight capacity per drawer before selecting the cabinet.
- Check the internal drawer width to ensure that it meets your storage requirements.
- If buying for security reasons, look for a fire or impact-resistant filing cabinet.
- Buy a filing system with a quality suspension mechanism so that you can open and close the drawers without any hassle.
- Look for filing cabinets with counterweighted drawers to ensure that the cabinet never tips over while accessing the top drawers.
- While buying a filing cabinet, it is essential to give importance to the material used in manufacturing it, as that will give a good indication as to its durability.
- Last but not the least, buy a cabinet that blends well with the rest of your office furniture.

Keep this checklist in mind while placing your order for a high quality filing cabinet from an Office Supplies Company in the UK, the USA or any other country in the world. For top quality filing cabinets you can rely on, choose Bisley Filing Cabinets or Triumph Filing Cabinets, they are amongst the best on the market.

About the Author

Tony Chalmers has worked for a reputable Office Supplies Company in the UK in various capacities. He is also an amateur writer and has written various articles related to office supplies and furniture.

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