A lateral file cabinet is one of the different kinds of file cabinets. It is shorter and wider than its vertical counterpart. Because of how it’s made, lateral files are more flexible and can hold more papers than other types of file cabinets. Ladder files are a great and cheap way to keep your office, no matter how big or small, clean and well-organized. They now come in many different shapes and sizes, but most of them have two to three drawers, are about 20 inches deep, and are 30 to 42 inches wide.
The two most common materials used to make lateral file cabinets are steel and wood. Some of these cabinets have two or more filing drawers on the bottom and storage or a place to keep office supplies on the top. A low wooden model with two drawers can be used as a table or to hold a fax machine or printer. There are also cabinets that can be mounted on the wall.
Because the drawers don’t stick out very far, lateral files are great for hallways and other places where a lot of filing needs to be done in a small space. Most lateral files are between 32″ and 36″ wide, so they can hold both letter-size and legal-size documents side by side or front to back. There can be as few as two drawers or as many as seven drawers in a lateral file, but most have only two.
If you’re having trouble keeping track of all the paperwork at work, use our filing cabinet buying guide to make sure you get the best solution for your location.
Good lateral filing cabinets are important in every office that deals with a lot of information because they are a big investment for any business. Care must be taken to choose parts that will last and work well.
Even though a lateral file cabinet gives you more options than a vertical file cabinet, you still need to think about how to organize your papers to fit your needs. Even though setting up a lateral file cabinet is easy, you should think about a few things before you start filing.
If your office has a lot of paper files, choosing the right way to store them will save you time when it comes time to file and find them. How you put your files in a storage cabinet affects how easy it is to get to them and how many you can put in there. Even though the differences in design between lateral and vertical storage systems are small, the differences in how they work are big.
What’s the point of a lateral file?
The main benefit of lateral filing is that it saves space because papers are added from the side of the file and the identifying tab is on the side of the file, making it easier to pull out documents.
What are the problems with the side-by-side filing system?
In regular file cabinets, the folders face out, but with lateral files, you have to look at the files from the side, which can make you have to stand in an awkward way. Also, lateral files are huge and hard to manage, especially when they are full to the brim with papers.
What’s the difference between a vertical file cabinet and a lateral file cabinet?
Vertical storage systems put the folders in the same plane as the front of the drawer. Lateral storage systems, on the other hand, put the folders perpendicular to the front of the drawer. This gives a lateral storage cabinet about the same depth as a standard storage folder.
A vertical file cabinet or a lateral file cabinet?
People like vertical file cabinets because they take up less wall space, but lateral file cabinets are bigger and may be able to hold more papers.
How do you keep files in a filing cabinet standing up straight?
Use a divider or folders to separate your papers, and put labels on each section to tell the cabinet what it is. A file cabinet is a great way to keep papers in order and out of the way.
What exactly is a vertical filing cabinet used for?
Vertical filing cabinets are very useful and easy to use. They have anywhere from two to ten drawers where you can store files, papers, letters, and other things. The files are easy to get to and face the front of the drawer. The drawers have gotten wider and deeper, giving them a huge amount of storage space.
What are the things that the filing cabinet doesn’t do well?
Most filing cabinets make a lot of noise when the drawers are opened and closed because the sound goes through the whole thing. The metal is easy to break, which makes it hard, if not impossible, to fix flaws in the finish.
What does a lateral cabinet look like?
Shelf files are files that are put on shelves, and a lateral file cabinet has drawers that stick out from the long side (of varying lengths).
How many papers can fit into a lateral file cabinet?
A lateral file can have anywhere from 2 to 7 drawers. Most 2-drawer models are thin enough to fit under a work surface.
How many different kinds of file cabinets are there?
There are two kinds of filing cabinets: vertical and lateral. Drawers stick out from the shorter side of a vertical file cabinet, while drawers stick out from the longer side of a lateral file cabinet.
How do you take a drawer out of a side-by-side file cabinet?
Open the drawer all the way. To replace a side-by-side file drawer, you can move the drawer slides out halfway. To take out the lateral file drawer, remove the shipping screws “A” from the left and right metal suspensions. Replace a Lateral File Drawer: Turn the drawer upside down and press the nylon release tabs “B” in.
How do you get the drawers out of a Steelcase lateral file cabinet?
Pull the file drawer on the side out until it stops. Press in on the lock retainer on either side of the drawer. As shown, pull the drawer up and out at the same time. Press down on the lock catch on each side of the drawer.