Standard Sheet Capacity: Large jobs will take less time when you can feed a shredder more sheets at one time. Most shredders can handle multiple sheets at once. But this number-of-sheets varies from model to model. And overall thickness matters—Sheets which are folded in half or are extra thick will cut this rating in half. This model can handle up to 9 sheets, an average amount, when manually fed, but 100 sheets when using the auto-feed tray.
Security (Shred Size): How finely a shredder can shred paper is a key spec. Small shreds make it impractical for someone to read or piece together your sensitive information. The manufacturer does not make any security claim for this model. In our test, the shreds from this model were approximately 0.5-inch long, which earns it an excellent security score.
Speed: For big jobs, a faster model will save you a significant amount of time. We tested its speed two ways: 10 individual pages—this model needed a total of 21 seconds; and one stack of 9 pages, stapled together—this model took 7 seconds. These fast figures award this model an excellent speed score.
Noise: Paper shredders are generally noisy when shredding, but some are a bit quieter. This model's measurement was about average.
Convenience Features: This model is relatively well-featured. As mentioned above, this model has an auto-feed tray—an uncommon feature that holds up to 100 sheets—though you have to take care to first remove any staples and paper clips from this stack. The waste bin holds up to 4.5 gallons, a moderate size. The manufacturer claims this model can run and shred continuously for 10 minutes until it must stop and cool down before continuing—In our "overheat time" test, we continuously fed it 9-sheet stacks; it ran for 8 minutes before stopping, which is midrange. It has a pull-out basket—easier to empty than the wastebasket type. The transparent window allows you to see how full the bin is. The wheels make it much easier to move this model around. Besides paper, it can also shred credit cards, staples, and paper clips. The warranty on this model is 12 months in general, and 36 months for the cutting blades. The manufacturer claims this model has been UL-safety tested.
