The Types of Paper Shredders

There are hundreds of companies that make paper shredders throughout the world, and the choices are so numerous as to be somewhat overwhelming.  We have broken it down into the five most identifiable types of paper shredders.

Home Paper Shredders - This is by far the most common type of shredder, being used in homes and small home offices for infrequent use.  These type of units are also referred to as personal paper shredders and are designed for intermittent use, with shredder capacities between 3 and 12 pages at a time

Office Shredders - These units normally found in lawyers, insurance, architecture and mortgage brokers offices are designed for capacities around 12 to 30 pages at a time, and usually are able to handle paper clips and staples in addition to paper and file folders. 

Centralized or High Capacity Shredders- These pieces of equipment are usually designed to handle between 40 and 500  pieces of paper.  They can also handle staples and paper clips, and are able to shred more frequently, with less cool down time.  These units often have feed hoppers available as an accessory to reduce the amount of time spent at the shredder.

Super High Capacity Shredders - These type of units are normally found in large corporations, hospitals and in shredding services companies.  These unit are able to handle 500 pieces at a time and rate their capacity in tonnage per hour output.  Many of these units can shred entire binder as well as files, have large inlet throats, can compact their paper shreds, and have optional accessories such as feed conveyors, hoppers, balers and dust abatement equipment.

High Security Shredders - While it is recommended that everyone use crosscut shredders for shredding, high security shredders are able to crosscut to 1/32" x 7/16" to ensure the extremely secure waste.  The sheet capacity is usually somewhat low, around 10 to 40 sheets do to the extremely find shedding.  These units are used by the department of defense and other government agencies, as well as other companies with extremely sensitive information.

While their are all different type of paper shredders even within the categories above, hopefully the five types above can provide a starting point of where to start your search.