Office Furniture Online’s Helpful Buying Guide: Filing Cabinets

Even the most technologically advanced offices today still have paperwork, and they need somewhere to store it! Filing cabinets are the optimal storage solution for large amounts of paperwork and documents, as well as equipment and supplies. Here you can find a definitive guide to the huge variety of cabinet options we have available here at Office Furniture Online, from traditional wooden cabinets to fireproof filing cabinets.

In This Guide, We’ll Cover:

• Our top five tips for buying filing cabinets
• Filing cabinet sizes
• Types of filing cabinets
• Filing cabinet materials
• Vertical vs lateral solutions
• What to consider when choosing filing cabinets
• Out product spotlights
• Additional things to look for
• Arranging your cabinet
• Storing heavy items
• Home office filing cabinets
• Where to buy filing cabinets for your office

Our Top Five Tips for Buying Filing Cabinets

In our buying guide, we cover a lot of information about what to look for when buying a filing cabinet. However, if you’d like some quick information to help you make an informed decision, here are our top 5 essential tips when choosing a cabinet.

• Determine how robust you need your cabinets to be
• Be aware of how much space your office has
• Make a list of the materials you would like
• Accessibility should always be considered
• Establish a budget

What Size File Cabinet Do I Need?

When you are choosing your filing cabinet, you need to consider what you will be storing within them. Small filing cabinets are great for small offices or home office workspaces and can fulfil minimal requirements. Medium-sized cabinets offer more storage but don’t take up as much space. They are great for moderate filing needs in small offices. Maximum storage capacity file systems are perfect for businesses who need to keep significant amounts of records or documentations. Be sure to measure your space and choose a cabinet size that will fit comfortably.

Types of Filing Cabinets

There are so many great functions of filing cabinets to keep in mind when picking storage solutions for your workspace. There is no need to concern yourself with good internet connections or forgotten attachments when you have a place to store all your documents. You’ll be ready to grab a physical copy when you have a meeting. You can also ensure that everyone on your team, especially new members, has ready access to team documents – and there’s no need to worry about forgotten passwords!

Here at Office Furniture Online, we stock a great assortment of filing cabinets for everyday office use. Our cabinets come in a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes and styles, with a range of useful features. With so many designs on offer, it can be overwhelming to know if you are picking the right model for your needs. Some important points to consider are what you will be using the filing cabinet for in your office, and how much space you have available – this can dictate what size, shape and how many you will need.

What Is the Best Material for a Filing Cabinet?

Just as important as the function is also the aesthetic of your office furniture – if the rest of the furniture in your office is a light wood like pine, you might want to opt for one of our wooden filing cabinets. However, if your office is more contemporary and industrial, you might opt for one of our range of metal cabinets to keep the theme running cohesively across all of your furniture.

Here you can take a more detailed look at each of the different models that we sell and compare the pros and cons for each to make sure you’re making the right choice for you.

Metal Cabinets

Metal filing cabinets represent a durable and sturdy option for most offices, with a range of different finishes available. Metal cabinets are a popular choice in modern offices for their sturdiness and modern sophistication, as well as the broad selection of colours that are available including black, silver, white and grey.

There are several benefits to choosing metal cabinets. They are designed to be functional and because they are made of metal, which is a straightforward material to manipulate, there are more options for different design elements with this type of storage.

Being made of metal offers other benefits too – certain types of metal are very durable, and this means that metal filing cabinets can last a lot longer and stand the test of time, as well as being safer. Metal lockable cabinets are one of the safest options available on the market. Metal is also often a lot lighter than wood when used in furniture, which makes these filing cabinets a lot easier to move around and transport.

Despite their benefits, it’s worth being aware of the downsides of metal filing cabinets too to ensure that you don’t compromise on finding the right storage for your office. These cabinets are slightly more limited in terms of how they can look because they are made of metal, which can only be painted and textured in specific ways.

Metal filing cabinets can also show a bit more wear and tear than wooden filing cabinets because they can dent easily, and they are moderately louder than wooden filing cabinets because noise reverberates around the unit when it is opened and closed.

Wooden Filing Cabinets

Wooden filing cabinets are a traditional method of office storage and can look more stylish and classic than metal filing cabinets. They can be made from different types of wood, including oak, maple, beech and pine, and their versatile material means that you can also choose to paint them whatever colour you choose!

Here at Office Furniture Online, you can choose between a variety of different sizes, from smaller 2 drawer models to much larger 4-drawer wooden filing cabinets for bigger spaces. You could also combine the different sizes for a modular approach. Wooden filing cabinets differ from metal filing cabinets in several ways, with different pros and cons.

As mentioned above, wooden filing cabinets are a lot easier to modify when it comes to their appearance because wood is a lot easier to paint and stain, which means they can be quickly changed to suit different environments, making them a much cheaper alternative!

They are also more timeless in their appearance, having been used in offices and workspaces since their invention in the 1890s. Wooden filing cabinets are also less likely to show damage than metal filing cabinets because of their robust material – dents and marks don’t show up as quickly on wood grain as they do on smooth metal. They are also very robust and less likely to warp with age like metal sometimes does.

Even though wooden filing cabinets can be very robust, they can splinter, and the wood can crack if used incorrectly or if exposed to excessive weight. This could lead to increased maintenance costs to look after the wooden structure. Wooden filing cabinets may also be the less stylish option if used in the wrong environment – aesthetic is important to keep in mind when choosing office furniture!

Side Filing Cabinets

For a busy office, side filing cabinets offer additional storage space. They can be used in addition to the metal and wooden cabinets mentioned above, often offering deeper drawers better suited for large lever arch files or storing objects. Their size means that you don’t need to buy multiple units but can invest in one larger unit overall. These models also come in a variety of sizes, from large 2 drawer units to slimmer 4 drawer units.

The best advantage to these units is that they offer maximum storage space whilst taking up less of the budget. The surface area on top of the drawers can also be used as additional storage.

Their strongest disadvantage is that the files are not presented to the user from the front – instead, the user must move to the side of the cabinet and look over to view the files, which can be rather awkward! These cabinets can also be difficult to move around your space due to their weight and size, meaning they are not ideal for offices with hotdesking or frequently changing personnel.

Multi-Drawer Filing Cabinets

If you’ve got lots of paperwork to file, a multi-drawer filing cabinet is a great option because of the ability to label each drawer and view the different sections directly from the front, instead of having to open multiple drawers and rifle through different sections to find what you are looking for. These filing cabinets are an ideal solution for those looking for an efficient and innovative storage solution.

These types of filing cabinets are also ideal for storing laptops and slimmer equipment that you want to keep locked away when the office is empty or closed. Multi drawer filing cabinets are usually tall and slim, making them ideal for more compact office spaces, with up to 15 shallow compartments for storing media and documents of different sizes up to A4.

Multi drawer filing cabinets are not as useful for offices that need to store a lot of paperwork, as these units cannot hold as much as the larger side filing cabinets. You are also not likely to find a wooden filing cabinet with as many drawers as their metal counterparts, which means the choices for different material types are limited with this filing cabinet type.

Fireproof Filing Cabinets

Fireproof filing cabinets might be more expensive, but they can prevent your most vital paperwork from being damaged in the event of a fire. According to the Home Office, there are around 15,000 fires in workplaces around the UK every year – so keeping your important documents in a fireproof filing cabinet is important!

You might be wondering if there is even that much of a difference between a fireproof filing cabinet and a normal metal cabinet, but fireproof filing cabinets are much more heavy-duty due to the unique fire-resistant layer of concrete-like material around them.

Being fireproof is of course their number one advantage, but fireproof cabinets also offer much more security for your important files and papers – they are extremely hard to puncture in comparison to standard metal filing cabinets, and they can come with an impressive array of locking options.

Fireproof cabinets also do not come at the expense of nice design and style – there are many different looks you can opt for to keep your fireproof filing cabinet in style with the rest of your office furniture. Their disadvantage lies in that their impregnable concrete inside layer makes them incredibly heavy, and therefore difficult to move around an office.

What Is the Difference Between a Lateral and Vertical File Cabinet?

Layout should be carefully considered when picking a filing cabinet as both lateral and vertical storage solutions can be utilised differently.

• Vertical Filing Cabinets: These cabinets are perfect for smaller offices as they are very space efficient and don’t have a large footprint
• Lateral Filing Cabinets: These are a wider choice and make browsing for documentation simple. They can be stored side-by-side and work well in larger offices where you need more flexible storage solutions

What to Consider when Choosing a Filing Cabinet

We’ve covered the different choices that are available on the market and at Office Furniture Online, but there are many expert tips you can use below to help you ensure that you pick the right type of cabinet for you.

Product Spotlights from Office Furniture Online

To help you narrow down your options, here are three top picks from Office Furniture Online:

There are many different options you might need in a filing cabinet – for example, you might need cabinets with suspension files for easy access, or plan chests for plans and blueprints. It all depends on your type of office:

You can choose between a variety of drawer sizes and depths – what you’re needing to store and how you currently file your paperwork will dictate the cabinet you pick. For example, if your files are all in lever arch folders, a multi-drawer filing cabinet might not be the right pick.

Do your Filing Cabinets Need to be Lockable?

Lockable filing cabinets are ideal for securing paperwork, as well as data security. If you need your cabinets to be secure for employee use, or to make sure no information is removed from the office, then checking the lockable features of different cabinets would be well advised.

How Much Space do you Have Available?

Whether you’re in a home office or a large open-plan layout, space is a concern that will dictate what kind of filing cabinet you can choose. Vertical cabinets are the most popular choice for home offices since they are slimmer and fit in better with more traditional pieces of furniture in home offices. Narrow filing cabinets are an excellent choice as they take up far less room and you are less likely to require the volume of a much wider cabinet.

It’s also worth considering whether you would prefer an under-desk cabinet to keep your space tidy in a smaller office, or if you would prefer much larger filing cabinets to ensure you have enough storage room if you are part of a quickly growing company.

Additional Features to Look for in a Filing Cabinet

The look and size of a cabinet are important when considering which style to go for, but what is also just as important are the additional features which can help with the type of organising system you want to use:

• Drawer labels and organisation
• Anti-tilt mechanisms
• Easy pull handles
• Castors or wheels

Drawer Labels and Organisation

Forget rifling through every piece of paper to find that one vital client document – if you need to be able to see what’s in a filing cabinet at a glance, you need clearly labelled drawers or tags. Making sure that you can find what you need quickly is one of the most important parts of choosing the right filing cabinet, so take your time picking and save yourself plenty of frustration later on.

Anti-tilt Mechanism

Many of the cabinets that we offer here at Office Furniture Online have anti-tilt mechanisms. This is important for safety – a large metal filing cabinet filled with paperwork can do some damage if it tips over, not to mention, that your files will be in serious disarray! Anti-tilt mechanisms ensure that you can only open one drawer at a time to avoid your filing cabinet tipping over and causing damage.

Easy Pull Handles

Some filing cabinets have recessed handles, which save on space but might be trickier for some people to use. If accessibility is a concern, then consider choosing a filing cabinet with mounted handles that are easier to grip and pull.

Castors or Wheels

Planning on expanding your office in the future, or working from home and need to be flexible? Some cabinets come with castors or wheels so that they can be moved out of the way. If you’re planning a move or just think you might want to put some more desks in and move your filing system into another room, then choosing a cabinet with wheels will make it so much easier to change your office furniture around. Otherwise, a heavy full cabinet will need to be fully emptied before it can be moved, and even if you’ve got a solid wood or metal filing cabinet it might still need to be moved with a hand truck or dolly.

How Do I Arrange the Files in a Filing Cabinet?

If you organise your filing cabinet, you can save on time and increase efficiency. To maximise accessibility, follow these simple steps:

1. Categorise Documents: Label your folders clearly and consistently and arrange into specific categories for easy location.
2. Alphabetise or Use Colour Coding: This way, you can find the category that you’re searching for very quickly. You can assign different colours to each category or arrange from A-Z.
3. Regularly have a Spring Clean: Schedule some time to go through your files to ensure that you are discarding any outdated documentation. If you only keep the files you need to, it will be easy to maintain organisation.

Where Should You Store Heavy Items in a Filing Cabinet?

If you need to store heavier items like binders or bulk files, always choose the lowest drawers of the cabinet. This will help to stabilise the cabinet by weighing it down and preventing tipping when the drawers are in use. Always check the weight limits of the cabinet you buy and don’t exceed the recommended limit.

Home Office Filing Cabinets

With a mass increase in home working happening, there is now a much bigger market for office furniture that suits home offices as much as it suits large formal office spaces. Here are some pros and cons of different cabinet types for home offices:

Wooden filing cabinet	Fireproof filing cabinet	Shorter filing cabinet
·         Tends to go better with traditional home furniture ·         More popular	·         Strong and built to withstand incredible force ·         Can be customised to fit in with other furniture at home	·         Ideal for smaller spaces ·         Can fit discreetly under another piece of furniture

There are quite a few different options to consider, but it is always worth remembering that you need to pick the solution that works for you and that you like the look of!

Where to Buy Office Filing Cabinets

You can buy every different kind of filing cabinet from Office Furniture, from metal filing cabinets in a variety of sizes to side filing cabinets and even the best fireproof filing cabinets available.

For metal cabinets, there are a great variety of options to choose from, but you are likely to pay between £130-£830 for a metal cabinet, depending on the type of finish, quality of material and size that you choose. Our wooden filing cabinets come in a variety of finishes to accommodate a variety of uses, from classroom to boardroom. You are likely to pay in the range of £80-£675 for one of our wooden filing cabinets.

We recommend checking product reviews to ensure you get the right storage furniture for you – check out our TrustPilot reviews to see how our customers felt about their purchases of filing cabinets.

If you’re tired of not being able to find important documents and paperwork, then take a look at the massive variety of filing cabinets and furniture we have available. Choosing a good filing solution is important – but you might need more storage, whether you work from home or in a busy office. If that is the case, check out our office storage solutions for further inspiration.