Evaluate Your Needs

For the most part, paper shredders come in three categories: personal shredders, office/home office shredders, and commercial-grade shredders.

• Personal shredders - Personal shredders are designed for home or single office use by or two people. They are low volume shredders that generally accept anywhere from two to six sheets of paper at one pass. They feature a small motor and don't usually require any additional service other than following the manufacturer's instructions.

• Small Office/Home Office Shredders - These models are designed for a higher volume of use compared to a personal shredder. Home office shredders are generally a step above a personal shredder and will accept four to eight sheets of paper in one pass. Small office shredders are slightly larger than a home office model and will usually accept six to ten sheets of paper in a single pass. Some larger office models are also strong enough to shred items such as paper clips, staples, and credit cards.

• Large Office/Commercial shredders: These models are designed to handle many more documents than a personal or small office shredder and come equipped with higher-power motors that allow them to chew through paper for longer periods of time. Large office-grade shredders are made for higher volume shredding found in offices with 50 plus employees. Commercial shredding units are larger than small office or personal shredders, and are built to last six to ten years. These models require significantly more maintenance including proper lubrication and cleaning. Be sure to factor the annual maintenance costs into your decision with a commercial unit.

Shredding volume

The volume and frequency of shredding also needs to be considered when choosing a shredder. How often will the shredder be used and how much paper will be shredded on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Shredders are not designed to work at maximum paper capacity all the time. For example, a shredder that has a maximum feed volume of six to eight sheets per pass isn't going to last long if you plan to stand there and run eight sheets per pass for an hour at a time. This unit is going to degrade and stop functioning in a short period of time, as the motor in a unit that size just can't take that level of extended use. However, a commercial shredder with a 90 sheet per pass limit would handle that volume with no problems. Another point of clarification involves total number of pages. For shredding purposes, a single sheet is defined as a single piece of 8 1/2 X 11 paper. If that paper is folded in two and passed through the machine, it's considered two sheets. A junk mail envelope that contains three to four sheets of paper folded twice won't be able to be shredded through most personal shredders.

Shredding Types

Paper shredders consist of a pair of rotating cutting blades, a paper comber, and a motor that drives the blades together. The paper is fed between the two intermeshing blades and is split into many small pieces by the force of the blades, which are driven by the motor. For the most part, shredders come in two types of shredding styles:

• Strip-cut shredders - Shredders of this type cut the paper into several small ribbon-like strips that vary in width from 1/12-inch to 1-inch. The size of the strip represents the level of security that a shredder offers. For example, a shredder that cuts in 1/4" strips is considered more secure than a shredder that cuts in 1 inch strips. A determined person or company could potentially recreated a document that has been shredded into 1 inch strips. A 1/4" or smaller diameter is a better choice. In most cases, a 1/4" strip cut shredder will work fine for most personal uses. Strip cut shredders can usually accommodate larger shredding volumes per pass.

• Cross-cut shredders - Crosscut shredders (also called confetti shredders) utilize a cross blade configuration that cuts the paper horizontally and vertically into small diamond shaped or confetti shaped pieces. This configuration turns a single page into 400 to 600 pieces of confetti. Crosscut models offer a higher level of security compared to strip cut models. For this reason, crosscut models are a more popular choice for businesses and higher volume home office users.

Features

Here are a few recommended features to consider on a shredder:

• Enlarged Throat - The area where the paper itself is inserted is called the "throat". Consider choosing a model with an enlarged throat (over 8.75 inches wide) as it will be easier and quicker to use.

• Auto-stop/Auto-start - This feature makes the shredder motor engage if paper is detected in the throat opening, and makes it disengage if it encounters a paper jam. This is a really nice feature to have as it can add years to the shredder motor.

• Reverse - Another great feature that really helps in clearing out paper jams.

Hopefully you found this information helpful and you're in a better position to make an educated buying decision. If you still have questions or aren't sure how to continue, please consider calling our knowledgeable customer service team as they will be glad to assist you.