Over the course of one’s life, one gathers many valuable documents. They can be of so many types and from so many places. Letters from a spouse or significant other, important business documents, your insurance and car documents, your bank documents – although we now consider ourselves part of a paperless culture, paper documents continue to be a very important part of our lives.
Paper documents, however, have some disadvantages. Paper is very perishable, and in case of a fire, you might easily find your paper documents reduced to ashes. It is not possible to take backup copies of paper documents. Of course, you can take a scan or a photocopy, but would a copy of a love letter really have as much value as an original? We doubt it. Additionally, photocopies of many official documents are not considered as replacements of the original. Therefore, we would recommend investing in a safe to keep your documents, well, safe.
The problem with this decision is the dilemma of choice. There are so many safes to choose from! Starting from high security safes with unbeatable combination locks, to fireproof safes and watertight safes, the choices of safes are no short of limitless. So we would like to provide the following guidelines for investing in the perfect safe for you.
Resistance from fire:
If it is documents that you are looking to protect, you should understand that the greatest risk to documents, after theft or loss, is a fire. Household fires may occur at any time and are impossible to predict, so it is best to plan for the future, and invest in a safe that can give you protection form fire.
Unfortunately, the decision is not that easy to make, as the story doesn’t end there. There are many types of fire proof safes.
- One type of fireproof safe releases steam inside in the event of a fire. These safes are best for storing documents in. The safe is heated up, of course, in the event of a fire, but the steam prevents the paper inside from catching fire.
Unfortunately, this is not the right type of safe to store any kind of electronic media in. The release of steam will destroy any electronic media storage device, and you will be left with the loss of valuable data. Additionally, it can also not take proper care of really old, fragile paper.
- Another type of fire proof safe gets very hot on the outside, in the event of a fire, but does not get hot inside, and thus it prevents anything stored inside from getting damaged. These are the best for storing a mix of electronic and paper storage.
Consult a professional locksmith:
Professional locksmiths have a good experience in the world of safes, and they can help you navigate the complicating world of safely and safes, efficiently, and help you make sure that you are investing in just the right kind of safe.
Locksmiths are always willing to help you out in obtaining a safe, whether it is for personal use or office furnishing. So if you are buying a safe, consider getting professional help for a locksmith. He will help you get the perfect safe for your needs.
Safes also require an installation. For example, if you buy a safe with a combination lock, you may wish to set it up with a unique combination of your own. In these tasks, the locksmith will be able ensure that you can go through these rigors without much difficulty. Furthermore, the locksmith will be able to show you where the safe itself should be store for the best utility, and which parts of the safe are most secure.
Keep backups anyway:
Just because you have bought a great safe does not mean you should neglect in taking backups of your business documents. Taking backups is a great habit that you should do regardless of the security of the original documents. Who knows, the safe may very well be broken in by a highly skilled burglar.
One good backup method for paper documents is to scan them and convert them into digital information. They may then be stored in a drive, or even in a server.
A safe can give you the maximum security for precious, valuable documents. So if you feel that you need this extra security, definitely consider investing in a safe.