What to look for in a Paper Shredder

For security, many people choose to shred most of there household paper waste. Personal and small office paper shredders can do the job but not all are as effective as each other. You'll want to find the best balance of price, features, and performance.

Here's what to look for in personal shredders:

Strip-Cut

Strip-cut shredders, also known as straight-cut or spaghetti-cut, slice the paper into long, thin strips. Strip-cut shredders generally handle a higher volume of paper with lower maintenance requirements. Shred size may vary from 1/8 to 1/2 inch. Narrower strips provide better security. Because the strips don't compress well, you'll need a larger basket (or more frequent emptying).

Cross-Cut

Cross-cut shredders provide more security by cutting paper vertically and horizontally into confetti-like pieces. The shredded paper compresses better so the basket holds more cut paper. The trade-off is these shredders may require more maintenance and generally cost more. With patience someone could reconstruct any shredded document. Cross-cut shredders just make the job a lot more tedious.

Volume/Capacity

It's easy to burn out a shredder by overworking it. For low-volume users, personal shredders designed for 100-150 sheets per day are fine. For higher volume look beyond personal shredders. A shred capacity of at least 4-5 sheets is best unless you really want to spend time feeding in paper one piece at a time. In real-world use, most shredders do best at 1-2 sheets less than their stated specs.

Throat

The opening where you feed the paper into the shredder needs to be large enough to accommodate the size of paper you typically shred. An 8.75 or 9 inch throat handles unfolded letter size paper nicely. A smaller throat size requires folding the paper but if most of your shredding is of credit card or ATM receipts, it works fine.
Stand-alone Units

This type of paper shredder fits on most standard size wastebaskets. Expandable sides allow you to adjust it for different width baskets. These are often the least expensive units and can usually be purchased for under £30. For the greatest flexibility, look for a unit that fits both round and rectangular baskets of varying sizes.

Article Source: about.com