There are many filing equipment systems on the market today. No one system is perfect for every application. Our Buyer’s Guide offers a full range of innovative solutions to satisfy your budget, space, style, and other considerations.
When creating a filing system, first determine what type of filing equipment is needed to hold your files.
Most file systems start with file cabinets – either L&T four post shelving or stackable shelving – and then expand to lateral track filing systems, mechanical mobile systems and electrical mobile systems.
In addition to the filing systems, Doctor Stuff offers specialty filing systems such as binder shelving, carousel files, tambour cabinets, rotary files, file carts and accessories like file cabinet doors and tambour doors to secure your files.
What Kind of Filing Equipment is Best for You?
The first big decision when creating a filing system is determining what kind of filing equipment is best to hold your records. Converting from top tab folders (a drawer-based filing system) to an end tab system with shelves can more than double the number of records that will fit in your filing equipment.
Filing in traditional lateral filing cabinets or in vertical cabinets may still make sense in some offices. Below are some things to consider if you are trying to determine what type of filing equipment you should use to hold you medical records, legal records and other types of filing.
Space Restrictions
Converting to end tab filing with a shelf filing system can allow you to double (or more) your filing capacity in a given area.
Because you read the information off of the end tab, shelf file systems allow you to have shelves that are higher than vertical or lateral file cabinets. In addition both lateral file cabinets and vertical file cabinets require additional aisle space for to open drawers and give users access to its contents. Open shelf file cabinets are completely accessible without additional floor space for pulling out drawers.
How Many Folders will my File System Hold?
When space is limited, shelf equipment delivers a very high ratio of files per square foot. Consider how many typical folders (about ¼” inch thick) will fit in a 6 foot by 24 foot filing area:
- Four Drawer Lateral File Cabinets – 8448 folders
- Seven Tier Open File Shelving – 15,232 folders (80% more)
- Compacting (movable) File Shelving – 34,272 folders (405% more)
Depending on how thick your files are, you may hold more or less actual charts, but you should maintain the same ratio.
Security and Convenience
If you do not have a lockable filing room or area, then vertical or lateral drawer filing cabinets may be a good choice. Keyed locksets on each cabinet allow individual cabinets to be secured without locking an entire room.
In addition, small amounts of records that need controlled access can be effectively managed in traditional drawer-based filing cabinets .
However, if you have a large amount of space in a secure environment, end tab filing provides maximum convenience and access.
Equipment Cost
Shelf filing equipment is far less expensive than drawer filing cabinets as elaborate mechanical hardware for drawers and locking systems raise the cost of storage equipment significantly. A recent comparison of retail prices for storing 10,000 files in lateral file cabinets vs. open shelving showed that the lateral files were more than three times the cost of the open shelf units.
Contact us for expert assistance in planning your space to its best advantage. We can provide you with literature on featured products as well as comparison drawings and pricing for your specific space. Some products are available fully assembled, or we can arrange for any installation services you require.
