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Paper shredders - crosscut or strip cut?
by Vincent Woodall
http://www.abt-shredders.co.uk
No matter what your shredding needs may be, there are many
different makes of crosscut paper shredders available in
varying sizes. If you are short on office space (or if you
are just short!) there are various small office and
compound crosscut paper shredders that will fit into an
individual office or next to, or even under, a desk.
Crosscut paper shredders with disposal containers housed in
a front door cabinet can be placed against a wall to
maximize your office floor space. Table top crosscut paper
shredders are also available.
Larger shredders can be leased rather than bought outright.
Shredders can be supplied with hoppers which allow the easy
emptying of waste bins straight into the shredder at the
end of the day. Larger, commercial or industrial paper
shredders have conveyors and can shred ring bnders, with
700 sheets of paper, steel rings included, in a matter of
seconds. Such machines can usually be fitted with balers
that compress the shredded paper into something like one
fifth of the space the paper might otherwise occupy. This
reduces the disposal bills for skips etc. There is a
saying that is particularly appropriate when talking about
shredders - "buy cheap, buy twice". A shredder smaller
than is actually required may be worn out in eighteen
months. Plus the time spend by someone shredding will have
been possibly twice that spent had the right machine been
purchased or leased in the first place. A false economy if
ever there was one.
Apart from choosing a crosscut shredder, you will need to
consider what size paper you need to shred and how many
sheets at a time would you like to be able to shred. Since
standing at a shredder is not most peoples' idea of fun
(OK, perhaps it is at first) in time the temptation is to
get the job done as quickly as possible and the shredder
will, no doubt, be pushed to its limits, and beyond, time
and time again. The better quality the shredder, the more
likely it is to stand up to this abuse. There are other
features that might be considered such as auto start and
auto stop but these are becoming more commonplace and the
norm.
The size of throat you need is determined by the type of
documents you will most often shred. If most of your
documents are computer printouts, then you will require at
least a 380 mm throat. Conveyors on industrial units
handle all types of paper, flat or crumpled. Even ring
binders are easily destroyed in a powerful industrial paper
shredder. Printout racks or shredder stands, with three or
four shelves, allow you to stream feed continuous form
printouts without constant operator attention. Insert the
first sheet and the shredder automatically advances to the
following sheets until the entire report is destroyed.
Also consider capacity. How many sheets can be fed into
the shredder at one time without risking a paper jam? Ask
about the blades, are they hardened steel blades to provide
long cutting life? Any brand new shredder will work well
in the beginning. However, the true test comes when heavy
loads and stacks of documents, reports or printouts are
shredded regularly. If your shredder is not built to
withstand this stress, you will end up with costly repairs
and service costs.
It is generally accepted in the shredder industry that most
of the best machines currently come from Germany. Others
that come from what is termed "the Pacific Rim" by some may
appear to be equal to the German-build shredders, but tend
to come with a replacement warranty rather than a repair
warranty. The problem here lies in the fact that after the
warranty period ends, your machine is destined for the skip
the first time it develops a fault. This is true of only
the smaller machines. Crosscut shredders need regular
oiling and a good reminder is to do it every time you empty
the waste bag or container. Never, ever, allow a child to
use a paper shredder. There have been many cases of small
children lose as many as three fingers in even the smallest
of shredders. The opening can be forced apart by the power
of the motor if a toddler is reluctant to let go of the
paper they are shredding and their hands can all too easily
get dragged into the machine with terrible consequences.
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