Friday, November 6th, 2009...12:03 am

Why Choose a Metal File Cabinet?

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Investing in a high quality metal file cabinet is essential, as the cabinet will be keeping your folders and must be strong enough in order to last for a long time. Those that are constructed out of metal are drastically more durable than models made of particle board, but they tend to be slightly less sturdy than the ones which are made of wood. Because of this, metal models are less expensive than ones which are wooden.

Sizes of Metal Filing Cabinet

The size of metal file cabinet that you want for your specific purposes will be determined by the type of documents that you are planning to store in the cabinet itself. There are four normal file cabinet sizes that you may consider: 1. Letter sized: This kind of cabinet will almost always hold only 8.5″ x 11″ paper and files. Most home offices use this type of metal file cabinet.

2. Legal sized: This type of cabinet is made to hold both letter sized documents as well as documents that are the standard legal 8.5 inches by 14 inches.

3. Lateral file cabinets: These are made up of two or three drawers that can hold both legal and letter sized documents.

4. Personal file cabinet: These cabinets are smaller, less expensive, and hold only 8.5″ x 11″ letter sized files. When choosing a file cabinet that will fit both sizes of paper, both legal and letter, keep in mind that most cabinets will have sliding metal brackets that let you to adjust for smaller or larger folders as needed.

Picking a Metal Filing Cabinet

When looking for your metal file cabinet, you should take into consideration how many drawers you need (and allow future file needs as well). It is possible to find file cabinets with as many as five drawers. If you intend to use the cabinet for storage purposes other than storing documents, take that fact into consideration when deciding how many drawers you will need. Also, if you plan on needing more than one metal file cabinet, you should think about buying one, two, or more at the same time as many retailers will offer a special discount for multiple purchases of the same type of cabinet, or cabinets in the same line.

It is important that you not fill up the top drawer of your metal file cabinet while keeping the bottom drawers empty because this can become a top-heavy cabinet that could fall and hurt someone. Only open one drawer at once to keep the weight of the cabinet’s contents are even. Attach the cabinet to the wall to help reduce the possibility of falling over. Put heavier items in the lower drawers to weigh the cabinet down and help keep it in one place.

Every office needs a file cabinet of some sort. If you do not want to spend a lot of money on one like you would with wood, consider a metal file cabinet.

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