Strip-Cut Shredders

Many businesses and government offices use strip-cut shredders to thoroughly destroy old documents and unneeded records. Good shredders work fast and can reliably grind through large stacks of paper without jamming. Noise is also a consideration in busy workplaces, which is why the relatively quiet strip-cutting models work so well in shared office space. Staples carries best in class office supplies, including paper shredders.

Strip-Cut Shredders Protect Sensitive Information
These shredders reduce whole stacks of paperwork to thin strips of confetti in just seconds. Company memoranda, private reports, and patient records contain sensitive information and the people charged with handling them must be extra careful to render every page unreadable before throwing them away.

Shredders use hardened-steel rotors to grind and slice between 10 and 30 pages at a time into a loose pile that resembles paper spaghetti. By the time the paper drops into the waste bin, which is often attached to the shredder motor above, none of the text or graphics originally on the paper remains. This eliminates the risk of accidentally releasing confidential information with the day's trash.

Speed and Productivity With Strip-Cut Shredders
These handy machines power through paperwork a stack at a time, and they can run through many stacks without stopping for anything but the occasional emptying of the bin. With a single cutting action, applied all at once across the width of the pages, strip shredders simplify document destruction and allow for high-volume disposal of whole file cabinets full of old folders.

Strip-Cut Shredders Cut Through Various Materials
Shredders aren't limited to just cutting paper. The sturdy wheels and strong electric motors on most shredder models are capable of cutting through stapled corners without jamming or damaging the wheels. They are just as good with old CDs and DVDs, expired credit cards, and plastic ID cards that cannot be dropped intact at the curb with the rest of the garbage. Try almost any plastic or paperlike material in a shredder; most models have a built-in jam detector that either pauses or reverses the grinding wheels when it encounters too much resistance to push through.

What's the Difference Between Cross-Cut and Strip-Cut Shredders?
Cross-cut shredders differ from strip-cutting models by introducing a second step in the shredding process. As the strips of paper drop out of the first stage, a super-sharp blade slices crosswise to further reduce the paper into small squares or diamonds. This longer process can be slower than strip-cutting, and it is almost always noisier, which can be disruptive in an office.

What Care Do Strip-Cut Shredders Require?
Strip-cutting models are low maintenance. With only a handful of moving parts, they just don't have much to maintain or repair. Once in a while, though, roughly every thousand pages, they do need a bit of lubricating oil to keep the action smooth and manage heat caused by friction. Most commercial shredders are forgiving about this, however, and may run without significant servicing for months or years.

Are Strip-Cut Shredders Noisy?
These machines do make noise, but their simple design and efficient motors keep it relatively low. Most machines run near 70 decibels, with some silenced models of strip-cut shredder dropping as low as 60.