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How To Choose A Cross Cut Paper Shredder

Your choice of a cross cut shredder depends upon what you plan to do with it. There are some shredders that are designed for hard and continuous use that are strong and reliable. However, I do not think anyone who uses a shredder for personal use would want to spend $1,000 on one. Professional cross cut shredders have strong motors and can take the abuse given to them by their users. But, if you do not use a cross cut shredder much, then you would be wise to spend your money elsewhere.

The first thing to look for in a shredder is to make sure that it is a cross cut shredder or a confetti shredder. Cross cut paper shredders and confetti shredders cut papers up into little blocks. In comparison to the strip shredders, cross cut shredders make it very difficult to piece together what was a whole document. Strip shredders do not do the same job. Although it may be difficult to piece together a document, it is much easier to do with a strip paper shredder. Additionally, strip shredders to not compress the output as well as a cross cut paper shredder. As such, you will need to empty your waste can more often.

Your choice of cross cut shredder will specify how many pieces of paper it can shred at a time. I have seen some people just overload their shredders with too much paper. The result is a burned out unit that needs to be thrown away. Do not do this. You will need to think about how much paper you will run through your cross cut shredder and compare that against the cross cut shredder's capacity. The amount of paper times the amount that the cross cut shredder can handle will give you an idea of how many times a day you will need to insert paper into the cross cut shredder. Please read the specifications of the shredder and apply it against your needs.

Check to make sure the width of the throat of the cross cut shredder. Most cross cut shredders permit 8.5" wide paper in them. However, if you regularly use larger paper, then you should look at a cross cut shredder with a larger throat. Otherwise, you will be busy folding the paper in half prior to putting it into the cross cut paper shredder.

There are various features to cross cut shredders. Some shredders have automatic feeds. These are nice in that they automatically pull the paper that you are inserting into the throat. However, please watch that nothing but paper gets into the shredder. There are reports of animals sticking their tongues in them with undesired results. The same has been reported with ties. Some other cross cut shredders have automatic buzzers that alert you to paper jams. Yet, other cross cut shredders have no jam features. Although, I am sure that someone, somewhere has jammed up one of these by over loading its capacity.

Some cross cut paper shredders have baskets under them. You may have to buy a basket for other shredders. Some cross cut shredders have buttons that decompress the cutter wheels thus allowing you to clear jams easily. However, please be careful to unplug your cross cut shredder when doing so.

As for maintenance, most cross cut paper shredders are maintenance free. However, some require that you oil them at regular intervals. You may also need to replace cutting teeth at times. This depends on your usage.

My Recommendations:

Personal Use--For personal cross cut shredder use, I recommend the Fellowes Powershred DS-2 Safe Sense 8 sheet cross cut shredder. It will last the personal users a long time. It costs around $80.00.

Medium Use--For medium duty cross cut shredders, I recommend the Fellowes 3219701 Powershred Personal SB-97Cs Confetti Cut Shredder. Although it says that it is for personal use, it has the true guts of a heavier duty medium use cross cut shredder. It costs around $215.00.

Heavy Use--For heavy use cross cut shredders, I recommend the Fellowes Powershred 100% Jam Proof C-325Ci Cross-Cut Paper Shredder. This is a high capacity, heavy duty, jam proof cross cut shredder that will work well in the small to mid size office. It costs a little less than $1,200.00.

Good luck with your choice. Click Here if you want to see these and other crosscut shredders available for sale.

Additional Information About Cross Cut Paper Shredders:

How Cross Cut Paper Shredders Protect Against Identify Theft:

Cross cut paper shredders are a type of shredder that can help prevent identity theft. A Crosscut shredder paper into pieces rather than strips. This eliminates a lot of the bulk that you get with just regular shredders. Although shredding your mail and other documents can sometimes be quite the hassle, many people are now discovering how cross cut paper shredders protect against identify theft.

Identity theft can happen to anyone who fails to adequately protect their information. Thousands of innocent people fall victim to the crime each year. All a criminal needs is personal information such as names, driver's license numbers, and social security numbers and they can open up faulty credit cards and even take out loans. Unfortunately, a lot of the data that these thieves need can be obtained off of mail that most people toss in the garbage. However, fortunately, using a crosscut shredder on finished documents before throwing them out is a very quick and easy step in deterring identity theft. Plus, buying a reliable shredder is much cheaper than going through the process of getting your stolen identity back.

The first step you should take is making sure that you open every piece of mail you get. Often, even junk mail contains secure information or special codes. Many criminals sift through peoples garbage cans to look for discarded mail they can use to steal identities. And junk mail is often what they are looking for. Go through these and put items that contain your info into a pile.

Everyday, after you have collected and sorted your mail, go through them. Anything that is to be thrown away should be thoroughly read to make sure it doesn't contain any sensitive information. If it does, use a crosscut shredder to shred it. Make sure you look over the envelopes as well, as even these can sometimes contain sensitive personal information that you would not want a criminal to have. A cross cutter paper shredder will ensure that after the junk mail, or any other documents, has been through it is unreadable to identity thieves.

To make this process more simple, consider using a "To Be Shredded" box. Keep the box on your desk or kitchen counter, wherever it is that you usually sort through your mail. Each day, place the mail that you intend on discarding into the box. This way, you will only be shredding when the box is full rather than each and every day. An empty shoe box will make a perfect "To Be Shredded" box. A medium sized plastic tray or flat bin will work too.

Any important documents you keep in your home need to shredded as well instead of thrown out when you no longer have any need for them. Bank records and copies of bills are usually updated monthly and, to save room, the older versions are tossed out. Make sure that they are put through a crosscut shredder until the information on them is impossible to read. Older versions of wills and outdated tax papers are also examples of documents that should be thoroughly shredded before you throw them away.

To keep your crosscut shredder in tip top shape, make sure its blades are kept clean. Gently and carefully wipe them clean and remove any clumps of paper and debris after each use. You will also need to apply an oil to the motor periodically to ensure it continues functioning properly. Cross cut shredders need this regular maintenance to keep them working. A broken or damaged crosscut shredder will mean that your mail starts to pile up until you fix your machine or purchase a new one.

In conclusion, there are many different ways that you can adequately protect your own identity. One way is by purchasing a crosscut shredder and making a habit of using it frequently. By opening and reading all of your mail each day, you can drastically reduce your chances of having your identity stolen. Cross cut shredders are very useful in this way because of the way their blades are set up. Documents put through them are impossible to read afterwards. So before you toss out any mail, even junk mail, be sure to run it through your trusty shredder. Any outdated, yet sensitive, documents you have should be shredded as well prior to being thrown away. Keeping the machine blade's clean and wiping away any chunks of paper after each use will ensure that the device will be working properly for you every day.

How Cross Cut Paper Shredders Work Better Than Regular Paper Shredders:

This is how a crosscut shredder works better than regular paper shredders to provide you with more security. Identify theft has become of the largest problems in our personal and business lives. Identify thieves who obtain your personal information can steal money from your bank accounts, ruin your credit report, and keep you from getting the job you need to support yourself and your family.

Identity thieves are looking for you credit card information, your social security number, and banking information. Have you heard the term dumpster diving. This is where identify thieve scour dumpsters looking for the paper you threw out that contains your personal information. Once the thief has your information, he is on his way to ruining your life.

It can take years for you to repair all the damage an identify thief can do once he discovers your personal information. This is why you need to shred your important documents. You can hire a shredding service to come to your home or business if you have several documents to shred each month. Or, if you do not have enough to warrant an outside service, you can buy your own crosscut shredder and do the job yourself.

Buy a crosscut shredder for the better security. The crosscut shredder cuts your documents horizontally and vertically. You are basically turning your important documents into confetti. The regular paper shredder cuts up your documents into strips or as some call it, spaghetti shreds.

When your documents are cut into shreds, you will need more area to store the shredded paper compared to the cross cut type. Further, it is easier for someone to put together the documents when they are shredded with a standard shredder. When documents are spaghetti shredded, you can easily put the documents back together by reassembling the shredded paper and then pasting or taping the documents.

The identity thief is skilled at putting back together shredded documents. But, a crosscut shredder turns the documents into little pieces. When you put the confetti sized pieces of paper into a bag which you shake, the identity thief will have a very difficult time trying to reconstruct the documents.

There is not an identity theft that is going to waste time trying to put your cross cut shredded documents back together. However, if you use the standard shredder, an identity theft who thinks there is information worth stealing, will spend the time to put together the spaghetti shredded documents.

If you need a shredding company to come to your home or business, make sure they use a cross cutting shredding system. You can find shredding services that will come out to your home or business and shred your documents on your premises. The shredding service will have a shredding machine on their truck so they will not have to take your documents from your home or business.

You will be safer if your documents do not leave your control before they are shredded. You can watch your documents being shredded either in person, or some trucks have a video camera set up so you can watch on closed circuit the shredding process.

Some shredding companies will video tape the shredding process if you need evidence of your documents being shredded. Some high security companies, or government agencies, require such evidence in case there is a security breach so they can trace any problems to stolen documents.

Most shredding companies will use a crosscut shredder if you ask for one. But make sure you understand the type of machine they will use so there are no mistakes. You will also want to know what the shredding company does with the shredded paper.

Some companies simply turn it over to recyclers. If your sensitive documents are only shredded with a regular shredder this can leave your documents in spaghetti like strips. The shredding company can then sell this refuse to a recycling company that bails the paper, your sensitive documents can still be read by anyone who wants to take the time to put the shredded paperwork back together.

This is why you need to insist that the shredding service uses a crosscut shredder. There are very few people who will try to put back together confetti like shredded paper.

You cannot take your personal or business information for granted in this age of rampant identify theft so you need to take the proper steps to protect yourself. One of the best ways to protect yourself is to shred your important documents. And the best way to shred your documents is to use a crosscut shredder.

Some Of The Components That A Good Cross Cut Paper Shredder Should Have:

There are a variety of different things that a person should look into when buying a new paper shredder. Knowing what to look for before you buy is always helpful. Below are some of the components a good crosscut paper shredder should have.

The main thing that a shredder will need is the proper blades for the job. You will want to make sure that no one will be able to get to your document after it has been shredded, so it is important to make sure that the blades are in good working order and nice and sharp. The worst thing that could happen is that they will not cut the paper all the way and essentially the whole document will be left in the bin below, accessible to anyone nearby.

A crosscut shredder works by cutting the paper two different ways. This leaves the paper in small confetti like squares. There is virtually no way that the document could be reconstructed after it has been shredded in such a manner. With a traditional shredder it is sometimes possible to tape documents back together. With a crosscut shredder, the document will be in far too many pieces for even the most dedicated person to be able to put back together.

Good paper shredders have blades that will also be able to cut through plastics. Occasionally, it might be necessary to cut up credit cards or other items that have been laminated in some way. Though it may not seem like that important of a thing, it is very helpful to have the ability to destroy a plastic card in very little time when you need to. At times, banks and other companies send out fake credit cards as a promotion to try to get you to sign up with them. Those cards occasionally have your name and possibly other information on them. If you cannot destroy those, then someone going through your trash might be able to use that information to steal your identity later on.

Some models are able to cut through staples and small paper clips as well. Most of the time it is necessary to remove those things before putting them in the shredder, but if you need to make sure that you can destroy documents in a quick and efficient manner, then you will want to make sure that the blades are rated to handle such things.

The motor inside the paper shredder that allows it to feed the paper in and shred the documents is another important component. Most shredders will be able to go at a speed of about twelve feet per minute, but some can go as high as almost thirty feet per minute. Speed may not be of critical importance to you or your office, but it is nice to have when you need it. Some people might have to destroy a lot of files at the end of every year, so for a few days that speed can really save a lot of time for the employees working with it.

You will also want to make sure that the paper shredder is wide enough to handle your larger documents. Most items that go in are going to be the standard letter size, but occasionally you will need to eliminate larger documents. If you have a smaller slot you might have to manually cut the documents in half before putting them in as you might not be able to simply fold them over and stuff them into the paper shredder.

The size of the storage bin under the shredder is important to consider as well. There are a few different ways to look at it. You could get a large one that will store a lot of paper so that you do not have to worry about taking it out and emptying quite as often, but that tactic means your destroyed documents are still going to be on site for a longer period of time. A smaller bin will make sure that it is getting emptied on a more regular basis and that you are not leaving the shredded documents in your home or office for too long.

There is no need for anyone to take a risk on getting their information stolen. In the age of the Internet, a little bit of information about you can open a lot of doors for any potential thief. Paper shredders can help to eliminate some of that threat, but not all of it. Regardless of how good the paper shredder is, it is not going to protect you completely.

The components a good crosscut paper shredder should have vary depending on your needs. For the most part any shredder is better than no shredder, but remember that they can burn out. Some can only handle a workload of a couple of hundred pages per day, which can be frustrating if you need to get a lot of things shredded.

Good luck with your choice. Click Here if you want to see these and other crosscut shredders available for sale.

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