17 Best Filing Cabinets (Review) In 2020

Filing cabinets are the bread and butter of any office in the world. It is essential, even in our age of high-tech virtual documents, to a large range of confidential, authoritative, signed, and other paperwork, which cannot just be stored on a USB or desktop hard-drive. There tend to be three main kinds of filing cabinets, and it will very much depend on what your particular needs are as to which one you will end up selecting.

1. First, there is a vertical file cabinet system. This is best used in an office that has limited floor space because it obviously takes up less floor space. Its drawers will be deep enough to store legal or letter size file folders; usually not both, so a choice is necessary at the outset. Shades of color, different locking mechanisms, types of pulls will all vary, so you will have to decide carefully in terms of what is important for you.
2. Second, there is a lateral file cabinet system. They will often function with two drawers below, and a range of cubby holes above. They also permit you to store both legal and letter size documents, side to side, or front-to-back, so they are very versatile.
3. Third, there is the fireproof file cabinet system. While not quite as popular as the first two kinds, they are nevertheless an excellent way of stowing precious documents, guarding against fire-risk. If dealing with highly sensitive information, this may be a good investment.

Filing cabinets are notoriously difficult to assemble from scratch, or at least from the component panels, screw, and sliding parts being delivered to your home or office. It is ideal if you can get a 'ready to assemble' cabinet, which can be used for a wide range of purposes, at home or at work. Another bonus to this kind of style is that it can easily be disassembled and reassembled when moving to another residence or new premises. They are usually on the lighter side, so can be packaged away and transported at a relatively lower cost than with more bulky models.

Some ready-to-assemble models can be made from wood derivative materials, which tend to be heavier than thing metal designs. They also require the one putting it together to have a range of tools, often a drill, which may make it more costly to assemble if paying someone to do it, due to the increased expertise and amount of time it takes to complete.

Another slight drawback to some ready-to-assemble cabinets is that there can be some rather crude and ugly connections on the outer frame of the cabinet, which may detract from the overall aesthetics of what is essentially a piece of furniture which also has functional purposes. It can sometimes be the case that a certain brand will ensure that specially-configured fasteners are needed in order to complete the job, which may or may not meet a given region's structural and safety standards. It will also be difficult if and when one of these fasteners is lost or broken, so this is something to bear in mind when weighing up the merits and downsides of a range of products.

On the other hand, if you purchase an already assembled filing cabinet, they tend to be welded together in a permanent manner, which can significantly increase the cost of shipping and transportation; therefore, when your cabinet comes you need to be ready either to assemble it yourself or pay more for a ready assembled product to be transported and lifted into your place. The difference in price may require some nifty calculations.

Filing Cabinets usually come with 2, 3, 4, or 5 drawers; they are designed mainly for a legal-size paper (18¼ inches wide) or letter-size paper (15 inches wide). Your average vertical file cabinet is 28½ inches deep, while each drawer can accommodate 27 inches of files. Shorter versions might be around 26½-inches deep cabinets with 25″ drawer depth, or 25″ deep cabinets with 23½-inch drawers. It is important to know how deep you want your drawers to be, ie. are you wanting the top two drawers to be for smaller items or documents, or are stationary drawers irrelevant. The number of inches deep really counts, on a practical, day to day basis.

Lateral files are obviously going to be much wider (33¼ inches of filing space, measured laterally) or 44 inches (the last with 39¼ inches of filing space), which allows you to consider if this is the best use of space in your office, particularly if you want to use the top surface area for other things, eg. photocopier, printer, extra cubby-holes, etc. Drawers can be arranged in various ways. They can come in just one row of front-to-back hanging folders, or they can come as side-by-side rows. You might want to consider the exact requirements you have, in terms of oddly sized documents of printouts, rather than just looking at the height of the unit as a whole.

The best filing cabinets will allow you to select from a range of privacy settings; this is extremely important if you are working in a place where privacy and confidentiality is of the utmost importance, eg. the medical field. In this case, you're going to require a decent quality metal or wood structure; plastic just won't be as robust or secure; its locking mechanisms are unlikely to be as trustworthy or solid.

You will also want to guard against outside accidents, even if your filing cabinet is at home. Things like flood or fire can affect your information anywhere, so consider steel as a substance which is highly resistant to impact, water, and various other hazards that could occur anywhere.

Size matters; in the legal profession you are less likely to need filing cabinets that only house the regular standard 8.5” X 11” paper. The legal-size paper requires a larger space; similarly, in specialist libraries canvases, blueprints or other archival materials might need to be laid flat rather than upright, so you should check out the specifications to ensure that this is possible, so as your documents don't get damaged.

You or your business may need to purchase cabinets that can accommodate their larger documents. In addition, any archival materials, blueprints, and canvases may require a flat file cabinet. These models offer larger drawers that allow documents to lay flat.

Lockability is of course a major factor when weighing up potential filing cabinets. The most popular kind of lock is the cam or sliding teeth lock. Most higher-end models will have such a locking capability automatically, together with two keys to enable a few colleagues to have access. The cam depends on a metal bar to affix the drawers into position; the metal bar inside which actually rotates as you turn the key. The bar is actually fairly easy to replace, which is good news. The sliding teeth lock similarly uses a structure within the cabinet and is best used with cabinets that have glass sliding doors. When you unlock it, the sliding section actually becomes separated from the lock, allowing you access.

It is also possible to get cabinets with electronic locks that necessitate you having a special code. The upside to this is that you don't have to worry about carrying a key around all day and can also (if you are a business) monitor who is accessing the cabinet, and when. There is also the possibility of having another layer of security; a lock bar. This means that a metal bar can run along the length of the cabinet, fixed into position via a padlock! This is likely to discourage anyone who thinks they can simply pick your lock!

Steel, aluminum, plastic, and wood are the four main materials from which filing cabinets tend to be made. They each have their own strengths and drawbacks, so as you read through the reviews you need to think about what is the best option to fill that valuable floor space.

Steel is arguably the most robust, the strongest substance from which to choose, and will likely last for many years without wilting, sagging, or warping. They tend to be resistant to scratches and minor impacts so will endure in a fairly pristine condition for an extended period of time. They tend to have durable locking systems and counterweights for smooth sliding drawers, which have suspension capacity. On the other hand, they're not that pleasing to the eye and tend to be practical rather than beautiful. Other materials will offer you that dual function of being both furniture and functional work-horse, which is something you may or may not wish to pursue.

Wood is certainly the most attractive and stylish option out there. Although less immune from wear and tear; scratches and scuffs, this could actually just add to the sense of character and heritage. The actual substance, moreover, is every bit as sturdy and dependable as steel, yet it will bring a warmer, more ambient feel to any room, at home, or at work. One other downside, though, might be its weight and the lengths you'll have to go to get it properly assembled. The best companies will offer an installation service, though, and it might even be included in the overall purchase price.

Plastic is much more affordable and of course resistant to water damage. However, it is a cheaper option and is less likely to last for a significant amount of time. It is less secure, too, so if you're just looking for a fairly temporary solution with documents that aren't extremely confidential and private, then it could be just the thing.

Aluminum has many of the similar kinds of attributes as steel, but tends to be lighter and so less able to bear heavier volumes of documents; it might tend to sag, over time. Depending on the sheer weight of contents it might be perfect your working space. It is of course cheaper to transport, too, which might make most models more affordable when all is considered.

There are various orientations in which filing cabinets can come: lateral, vertical, flat, and mobile being the mains ones. Each one is perfect for slightly different uses, so it behooves you to determine which one would best suit your working environment.

• Lateral - These have drawers will slide outwards from the longest side of the cabinet, the major advantage being that you can examine and take out documents from a sitting position, and can store different sized documents therein. It won't have as much depth as the traditional tall cabinets, and is unlikely to have stationary drawers; however, it might fit well into a smaller space and allow you to put other things eg. a printer, on top of it.
• Vertical - The drawers extend from the short side, which will tend to mean more capacious, deeper drawers. Due to their height, they make good use of floor space and are using all that vertical 'dead' space which could be so easily under-employed. It also has that classic filing cabinet look, and is what most people think of when you say 'filing cabinet'.
• Flat - They are specifically designed to house larger documents that must be laid out flat. The drawers are more spacious so that even blueprints or canvases can be laid out therein, and you won't have to worry about damaging such documents by rolling or unrolling them. They are less common due to their specific proportions.
• Mobile - As the name suggests, they can be easily maneuvered around an office, due to their casters which allow you to roll it from one location to another. With shorter versions, you can roll it underneath your desk and lock it into position, with lockable wheels. Some filing cabinets come with optional casters, so you can convert it to a mobile filing cabinet if you need it.

There are sizes of file cabinets out there; you owe it to yourself or your team to think carefully about the best use of floor space, and what exact needs you have as an individual or organization. The advantage of traditional tall, vertical file cabinets is that you're employing that empty space, and can fit in more cabinets as your business grows. You also need to consider if employees will have easy access, ample storage space, and whether you want it to function as a piece of furniture as well as a functional piece of practical equipment. It's as much about style and taste as it is about precise proportions. The kind of filing cabinet you end up choosing will say something about you.

How strong your filing cabinet is may depend upon what you intend to put in it, and whether you intend to completely fill it before investing in another one. Clearly, steel is the strongest substance; however, you might opt for a more mobile choice with casters, in which case you won't be wanting a heavier material, or then again maybe you will. Wooden cabinets are also known for being extremely durable and long-lasting. Plastic, on the other hand, is rather more flimsy, while aluminum is a halfway house; sturdier enough but not particularly resilient to heavier loads and long-term use.

The normal weight of a common steel filing cabinet with 4 drawers is anything up to 150 pounds. Of course, this is when it is empty rather than full to the brim with paperwork. In that case, it can weigh anything up to 440 pounds. That's just the average, though, and some cabinets can weigh up to 750 pounds when full! If that isn't amazing enough, consider fireproof filing cabinets. They can be up to 800 pounds when empty - a whopping 1,400 pounds when full! It is of course imperative that your office floor, if not a first-floor, is strong enough to bear a load of several full fireproof filing cabinets in one small space.