Office Shredders

More About Office Shredders

People use shredders for many reasons - the main reason would be to destroy personal details however people also use shredders to reduce waste and for recycling (animal bedding or packaging). 

Unfortunately identity thief is becoming increasingly common so it is vital for personal or sensitive information to be destroyed before disposing. There are different types of shredders available on the market, you can get a personal shredder that just sits on top of a bin or you can get an entire shredding unit on its own. 

How Office Shredders Work 

Shredders usually have a sensor which detects when you insert a sheet. Once the sheet is inserted the rollers blades pull the paper and the paper is shredded and pushed out the other side into the bin. 

1. Strip-cut shredders are very affordable and would be a popular type of shredder. Strip cut shredders shred the paper in strips, the thinner the strips the more difficult it would be for a thief to reassemble, this type of shredder would be ideal for discarding junk mail or for general office use. Typically strip cut shredders would be faster and would take more paper than cross cut shredders however the information shredded would not be as secure as cross cut shredders. 

2. Cross-cut shredders are becoming very popular as they are more secure than strip cut shredders. Crosscut shredders shred the paper into smaller particles than the strip cut shredders reducing the volume of waste. Cross cut shredders have two sets of roller blades working in different directions that cut the paper into small particles which then drops into the bin. 

3. Micro-cut shredders are ideal for extremely sensitive information, the paper is cut into tiny micro particles making it absolutely impossible to reassemble. 

Tips For Choosing An Office Shredder 

1. Firstly you should always consider your security requirements, if you have very sensitive information then always choose a cross cut shredder. If the information is less sensitive then choose a strip cut shredder. Often marketing departments would use a strip cut shredder as they would have large volumes of shredding however the information wouldn’t be very sensitive. Whereas an accounts department or HR dept. would choose a cross cut shredder as they would be shredding bank details, employment records etc. 

2. Consider your capacity requirements. If you have a large amount of paper to shred then purchasing a shredder capable of only shredding a few pages at once would be time consuming and completely inefficient for your needs. Underestimating your capacity requirements will cost you money in the long run as overuse will burn out the shredder and you will end up purchasing another shredder, so don’t underestimate the capacity requirement when choosing a shredder. Preferably choose a shredder that will shred paperclip and staples, this will also save you time. 

Office Shredder Security Levels Explained 

DIN - Deutsche Industrial Norm 

DIN 32757- is the security level of shredders and its been divided in 6 levels. 

Level 1 = 12 mm (DIN 1) - Ideal for home users. DIN 1 Machines will shred into long strips shredding an A3 paper into approximately 80 parts. If you’re a home user looking to shred unwanted paper this would be ideal and affordable for any home user. 

Level 2 = 6 mm (DIN 2) - Still for home users but slightly improved security level for users of more sensitive information that needs to be get rid of. This cuts a sheet of a3 paper in 1 

Level 3 = 2 mm (DIN 3) - Level 3 shredders cut paper into Cross-Cut or confetti cut particles. Level 3 is recommended for all important documents such as bank statements, utility bills etc. 

Level 4 = 2 x 15 mm (DIN 4) - This level is recommended for confidential documents, which may include documents that would threaten identity or commercail safety. 

Level 5 = 0.8 x 12 (DIN 5) - For highly confidential documentation used in government and army intitutions. 


Level 6 = 0.8 x 4 (DIN 6) - Especially designed to shred a piece of a4 paper in millions of shreds leaving no trace. 

Looking After Your Office Shredder 

Tips to prolong the life of your Office Shredders 

1. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. 
2. Don’t overfeed or overuse the paper shredder. 
3. Regularly lubricate the cutting blades with shredder oil.

Here's what our customers are saying...
	Edel Horan
	about Fellowes AutoMax 300C Shredder Cross Cut Ref 4651601
	Perfect
	"This shredder was bought for the accounting office in our company. They have so much paperwork to go through and file and some of it is just a waste of space and needs to be shredded. This Fellowes shredder was a perfect for because of the features and the dimensions were ideal for the space that was available in the office."

	Frank Hughes
	about Rexel Auto Plus 100M Shredder Micro Cut 2104100
	Would highly recommend it!
	"I found this shredder absolutely brilliant. It works efficiently and requires very little maintenance, even when I load several sheets on it works away itself with no fuss whatsoever. It hasn't jammed once in the several weeks I've been using it! I also love the micro cut feature that ensures my personal documents are well shredded whereas I've found other shredders without this feature leave some sheets slightly legible. Would highly recommend it!"

	John
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Very good price.
	"A must have have if you use a shredder - doesn't matter if it's small home one or large office shredder. I damaged a shredder once as it was not lubricated often enough and the cutting heads were dry as a Sahara dessert. I wouldn't advise using veg oil but a proper shredder oil like this one from fellowes. Shredder oil isn't as sticky as regular oil so it doesn't attract paper particles what might sometimes cause malfunctions. Very good price for that product ."

	Amy (Dublin)
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Good quality.
	"Good quality shredder oil. We use it on our 2 Fellowes shredders and it seems to do the job very well."

	Chris Healy
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Working like a dream.
	"I have a fellowes shredder the cutting blades started to slow down, I was ordering a new shredder and a friend mentioned I should use the shredder oil. I used my bottle of shredder oil last week and my shredder is working like a dream again. I don't understand why shredders don't come with a bottle of shredder oil in the first place, I probably should have read the manual, I didn't know anything about using shredder oil."

	Paudie Magner
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Good quality.
	"This fellowes shredder oil is a must if you want to extend the life of your paper shredder. We have lots of shredders scattered around the office and the ones that are regularly treated with fellowes shredder oil not only perform better but also have far less paper jams and require less servicing. Good quality. "

	Roy Mc
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Would highly recommend it.
	"This is more like a universal shredder oil used it for both my cross cut shredder and confetti cur shredder and did the job for both of them. I suppose the fact that it's made by Fellowes only reassures about the quality of this shredder oil. Would highly recommend it. "

	Jenny
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	I would recommend!
	"We have a fellowes shredder and until recently we did not know that you needed shredder oil for it. It was not cutting great, so we took out the instruction manual to see if it had to be fixed. And there it was, fellowes shredder oil. We went online and checked out the huntoffice website. And there it was agian. So, we ordered a bottle of it. Its like a new shredder. I would recommend that anyone who has a fellowes shredder, order this fellowes shredder oil and give your shredder an good dose of it."

	Tim, Castleisland.
	about Fellowes Universal Shredder Oil 350ml Bottle
	Very cheap
	"We have a fellowes shredder and we buy this fellowes shredder oil to keep it in top condition. It is very cheap and best of all it is made for our fellowes shredder. This fellowes shredder oil comes in a 350ml squeeze bottle and it also has a nozzle tip for accurate application of the oil. I would not use any other oil on the shredder only this fellowes shredder oil."

	Patricia Ryan (Munster)
	about Fellowes Shredder Bags 23-28 Litre Pack 100
	Solid and robust shredder bags.
	"We have a couple of shredders at work and these fellowes shredder bags are great as they fit for all of them. I don't know exactly how many models are these fellowes 36052 bags compatible with but it must be quite a few. Solid and robust shredder bags."