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Crosscut paper shredders
by Vincent Woodall
http://www.abt-shredders.co.uk
No matter what your shredding needs may be, there are many
different makes of crosscut paper shredders available in
varying sizes. If you are short on office space (or if you
are just short!) there are various small office and
compound crosscut paper shredders that will fit into an
individual office or next to, or even under, a desk.
Crosscut paper shredders with disposal containers housed in
a front door cabinet can be placed against a wall to
maximize your office floor space. Table top crosscut paper
shredders are also available.
shredders are available for lease or rental rather than for
simply outright purchase. This will help to spread the
cost of ownership of what is now generally recognised as
an essential piece of equipment alonside the telephone, fax
and copier. shredders vary in size from deskside to large
commercial paper shredders the size of a small van or even
bigger. The majority of commercial shredders come with a
conveyor and even rotating paddles that facilitate the
shredding of both flat and crumpled paper, such as might be
found in office waste baskets at the end of the day's work.
some larger commercial shredders can also be fitted with a
baler exerting tons of pressure to reduce the paper to a
fraction of its bulk if not compressed and baled. When
sourcing a shredder the plan should be to obtain one that
will last for five years as a minimum. cheaper shredders
are in fact dearer in the long run. If there is a backlog
of shredding that needs to be dealt with this should be
taken into the equation and a larger shredder should be
bought or leased than you will need after the backlog has
been shredded. If this policy is adopted the shredder will
last all the longer as it will then more easily handle
the day to day demands on it.
Other features to take into consideration are does the
machine stop automatically if paper starts to jam in the
cutting head? Some shredders can detect an imminent jam
just before it occurs by what is known as a "chopper disk"
in the cutting head. The machine is able to detect a
slowing down of the rotation of this disk when it begins
to jam and stops the shredder so preventing major jams. It
is then far easier to remove the offending paper or other
item before the machine jams too severely. Some machines
have an automatic reverse function in the event of a paper
jam so allowing the paper to removed relatively easily.
Some shredders have an alarm or warning light that shows
when the bag needs to be emptied. This is an important
feature as many jams occur when paper is taken back up into
the cutting head from inside the shredder when it is full.
This is less likely to happen with a crosscut shredder as
paper lies in the bin much more neatly than with a strip
cut shredder.
Shredders come with different "throat" sizes which is the
term given for the opening where the paper is fed. Unless
you are familiar with paper sizes, you might pick the
wrong size machine so it is best to ask. A4 paper is 210mm
wide and 297mm long. A3 paper is twice the size at 297wide
and 420mm long. It is always advisable to buy a shredder
with a wider throat than the minimum possible. Unless you
have a very steady hand and eagle eye, trying to feed paper
that is 297mm wide into a 300mm throat with a powerful
motorised cutting head tryng to pull the paper into the
machine at the same time, in a perfectly straght line, is
virtually impossible. The paper will frequently be bent
and will cause jam after jam. It is prudent, therefore,
to buy a machine with a margin for error, with a throat
width of perhaps 380mm for A3 paper and computer print outs
and 260mm for A4 shredding. Certain shredders can be
supplied with racks for shreddng continuos stationery. If
this would be a useful feature be sure to ask your supplier
if the one you are considering or is being suggested to you
can be supplied with such racks.
It is generally accepted in the shredder industry that most
of the best machines currently come from Germany. Others
that come from what is termed "the Pacific Rim" by some may
appear to be equal to the German-build shredders, but tend
to come with a replacement warranty rather than a repair
warranty. The problem here lies in the fact that after the
warranty period ends, your machine is destined for the skip
the first time it develops a fault. This is true of only
the smaller machines. Crosscut shredders need regular
oiling and a good reminder is to do it every time you empty
the waste bag or container. Never, ever, allow a child to
use a paper shredder. There have been many cases of small
children lose as many as three fingers in even the smallest
of shredders. The opening can be forced apart by the power
of the motor if a toddler is reluctant to let go of the
paper they are shredding and their hands can all too easily
get dragged into the machine with terrible consequences.
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