Gallery: Shred, White and Blue: 5 Document Shredders Tested
01shred-001
It's tax season, and you know what that means: It's time to shred everything. Shredders appear to be pretty simple machines -- they just destroy paper, turning sensitive information or incriminating documents into hamster bedding. But there's a host of things that can go wrong when you're destroying documents. Paper clips and staples can jam the blades, too many pages can gum up the works, and even the toughest shredder can get overheated if you keep it running too long. We took five of the best shredders we could find, from burly commercial beasts to a demure handheld specimen, and we ran them into the ground, checking out speed, capacity, toughness, and noisiness. We also assessed their paper-destruction capabilities and found out which ones are best for making sure your Social Security number and credit card info stay out of the wrong hands.
02shred-002
GeoEcoLife 20-Sheet Micro Cut Commercial Paper Shredder GMC205Pi ---------------------------------------------------------------- If you've got stacks and stacks of evidence, er ... personal information, that has to be destroyed beyond recognition, the [GeoEcoLife](http://www.goecolife.com/goecolife-20-sheet-micro-cut-commercial-paper-shredder-under-desk/) is the way to go. The brawny $700 shredder had no problem handling its claimed capacity of 20 sheets at a time, turning everything into unreadable, gravel-sized particles. I was able to go through reams of documents before the waste bin needed to be emptied -- at almost eight gallons, it had the highest capacity of all the bins tested. I tried to jam it by stuffing five manilla folders into it at once, but it swallowed those without a hiccup. One snag: the manufacturer claims it can withstand 20 minutes of continuous use before overheating, but I started seeing smoke after about 15 minutes. No fire, but where there's smoke... __Best For:__ Destroying everything in your office. __WIRED__ Huge bin capacity. Long running time. Can eat 20 sheets at a time. Superior document destruction. __TIRED__ No auto-feed. Prone to overheating, and it starts to smoke before the auto-shutoff kicks in. Pricey. __Rating: 8 out of 10__
03shred-004
Fellowes Powershred 79Ci ------------------------ The sensors on [Fellowes' Powershred 79Ci](http://www.fellowes-shredder.com/fellowes-79ci-jam-proof-cross-cut-shredder.html) office shredder ($460) make it extremely simple to use. Tend to overstuff your shredder? An LED display shows how much of the shredder's capacity you're using with the paper you're stuffing into it, and it'll give you a visual warning that your stack is too much for the machine to handle before you get the chance to cause a paper jam. Even if you ignore the display's warnings, the shredder will back the sheets out, then give it another go. Can't seem to feed paper in straight? The 79Ci pushed through my misfeeds (intentional and otherwise) crumpling up diagonally-fed sheets and turning them all into 1.5-inch-long strips. Just can't keep your fingers out of it? It's got a sensor that'll stop the blades when your fingers get too close. On top of all that, it's tough as hell, chomping through file folders, paper clips, and CDs like a champ. Bonus: it was noticeably quieter than the other shredders we tested. __Best For:__ Idiot-proof shredding. __WIRED__ Plows through misfeeds. Jam-proof. Can handle credit cards, staples, paper clips, DVDs. Won't eat humans. __TIRED__ Only 12 minutes of run time before the auto-off switch flips, and that's followed by a 20-minute cooling-off period. __Rating: 9 out of 10__
04shred-007
Aleratec RoboShredder --------------------- Aleratec's [RoboShredder](http://www.aleratec.com/shredder-automatic-roboshredder-240201.html) ($350) sports one of my favorite features: an 80-sheet auto-loading tray. The auto-loader let me pack in big stacks of paper, then just stand back let the shredder go to work. It was much better than having to hover over it and manually feed in stack after stack by hand. The loader has an open top, too, so I could stuff in longer sheets of paper than the standard 8.5x11-inch letter size. It's also quite good for security -- it turned everything I fed into it into tiny, indecipherable pieces of mulch. The manual feed slot was far less impressive. It could only handle six sheets at a time, and seven sheets would cause a jam. And when it did jam, which was often, it was a pain to yank the sheets out and get it going again. __Best For:__ Auto-shredding reams of non-stapled paper. __WIRED__ 80 sheet auto-loader is great. Six gallon waste bin. Shreds DVDs and credit cards. Reduces paper to tiny, tiny bits. __TIRED__ Won't shred file folders. Finicky with paper jams. Small manual feed capacity. __Rating: 7 out of 10__
05shred-008
Swingline Stack and Shred ------------------------- Like the Roboshredder, the [Swingline Stack and Shred](http://www.swingline-shredders.com/swingline/Swingline-Stack-and-Shred-80X_80X.htm?gclid=CKGLw6-kjLYCFW3ZQgoddi0AHg) ($400) has an auto-loading tray with an 80-sheet capacity. It's a great feature for large shredding projects, but the Swingline shredder's tray has a closed top, so it only fits pieces of paper up to 8.5x11 inches. If you have real estate appraisal documents, bills, or pretty much anything bigger than the standard letter-size piece of paper, you're going to be stuck manually feeding your paper into it. And you have to limit your feeding to six sheets at a time, or else you get a jam. I was also disappointed with the five-gallon waste bin, which I had to empty repeatedly during testing. __Best For:__ Smaller jobs involving only standard-sized paper. __WIRED__ 80-page auto-feeder tray. Tough enough to eat paperclips and staples. Auto-off switch kicks in after ten minutes to prevent overheating. __TIRED__ Manual feed slot can only handle six sheets at a time. Auto-feeder can only take 8.5x11-inch sheets. Slot won't accept file folders. Small waste bin. __Rating: 6 out of 10__
06shred-010
Ziszor Portable Handheld Shredder --------------------------------- If the only thing you need to shred are receipts and the occasional single-sheet letter, then the [Ziszor Portable Handheld Shredder](http://www.target.com/p/ziszor-mobile-check-paper-shredder/-/A-10978073) ($13) might be a good idea. At thirteen bucks, you don't have a lot to lose. Its 4.25-inch feeder slot is sized for receipts, but it can also handle a single sheet of paper folded three ways (just like a letter). It comes with a handy little baggy that slides over the shredder and collects the pieces, so you can shred things when there's no wastebasket around. The problem is, that's all it can do. Anything thicker than five sheets (like two pages folded up three ways) and the thing jams up. Also, the shred is the least-secure of all the models we tested. It just slices the paper up into long, wide strips, and it wouldn't take much longer than a couple of minutes to reconstruct your document. If you often feel the need to shred everything immediately, then this could be a good companion to the shredder that you have at home or in your office. Otherwise, just stick to using a decent floor model. __Best For:__ Receipts, and that's pretty much it. __WIRED__ Compact. Can shred receipts indefinitely without burning out. Disposal bags would be a good idea if executed well. Affordable. __TIRED__ Cheap. Can't shred anything but receipts. Disposal bags can get chewed up in the blades. Loud for how small it is. __Rating: 4 out of 10__ <script language="JavaScript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <object class="BrightcoveExperience" id="myExperience2198259267001"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"></param><param name="width" value="660"></param><param name="height" value="372"></param><param name="playerID" value="1577029897001"></param><param name="playerKey" value="AQ~~,AAAAAF1BIQQ~,g5cZB_aGkYZC26fBYKv5Nsnal0IamyGL"></param><param name="isVid" value="true"></param><param name="isUI" value="true"></param><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true"></param><param name="@videoPlayer" value="2198259267001"></param></object> <script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script>
