Office File Cabinets
Selecting the Best Office File Cabinets for Your Office
File storage is a major concern in most offices, from the smallest of home offices to the largest of corporate offices. Files need to be kept accessible as well as organized. The needs of the office will determine the best file storage system. Office file cabinets come in a wide variety of sizes, styles, and materials. The file cabinet that works for one office, may not be the best fit for another. There are many things to consider when selecting the filing cabinet that you want for your office.
Material - Office file cabinets can be found made from metal, solid wood, particle board, and plastic. If the cabinets will not need to be moved, then metal and solid wood are good choices. If, however, you will have need to move your filing cabinets more than a couple times, going with a portable style made of plastic may be the best option. Metal and solid wood tend to be tougher and will last longer. Plastic will offer the ease of portability, but will not last as long as metal or solid wood. Particle board will not be as easy to move as plastic, but will offer a short term savings over metal or solid wood.
File Orientation - There are three main ways a file can be stored in office file cabinets: with the label facing to the front, with the label facing to the side, or with the file lying flat. Cabinets in which the label faces front tend to come out farther from the wall, but need less wall space than the other styles. Cabinets in which the labels face to the side do not need to come out as far from the wall, but will need more wall space to hold the same number of files as the front facing cabinet. Cabinets which are designed to hold the files lying flat usually have vary wide but shallow drawers and are used for large formats like blueprints.
File Size - Most files are made up of papers that are either letter sized (8.5 x 11 inches) or legal sized (8.5 x 14 inches). The length of the file folders will have a large impact on the size of your office file cabinets. While letter sized folders will fit in a cabinet designed for legal size folders, it is an inefficient use of space. Legal size folders will not fit in cabinets designed for letter sized folders without being bent. When dealing with nonstandard, oversized files like blueprints, large drawings, and maps, it is usually best to store them laying flat so they do not get bent by falling during storage.
The types of files your office works with will determine what style cabinet will work best. Elements like materials, colors, and handles will come down to a matter of office decor and personal preference.