Frequently Asked Questions about Shredders

Why should I buy a shredder?
What type of materials should I be shredding?
What security level should I look for in a shredder?
How do I know what type of shredder to buy?
Shredders are so big, noisy and bulky. Is this just a necessary evil?
Does Staples offer other shredders that can be used for small business and personal needs?
What makes a Staples brand shredder better/different from others on the market?

Q. Why should I buy a shredder?

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes, and shredding is an easy and cost-effective way to help reduce your risk of being victimized. It is not just information gleaned online that is being used to steal identities, but old bank statements, credit card statements, junk mail, and anything else with personal or sensitive information. Even catalogs sent to your house include information useful to an identity thief.

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Q. What type of materials should I be shredding?

You should shred any documents with sensitive or personal information, especially financial statements, pre-approved credit card offers, convenience checks from credit card companies, junk mail and medical records. Tear off and shred the mailing label of a magazine before you recycle it. Also, with many shredders, you are able to destroy expired credit cards and CDs with sensitive information.

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Q. What security level should I look for in a shredder?

It depends on what you will be using the shredder for because different types of shredders offer ranging degrees of protection — everything from strip–cut to microcut. For personal or sensitive data, look for a cross/diamond-cut or micro-cut shredder. A piece of paper shredded through a cross/diamond–cut shredder will take about 9 to 10 hours for an indetity thief to put back together, whereas a sheet of paper destroyed with a micro-cut is virtually impossible to reassemble.

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Q. How do I know what type of shredder to buy?

Once you decide which level of security you need in a shredder, there are three other considerations:

• How many sheets will you shred in one pass? Different shredders have different capacities.
• How often will you shred? The more you use it, the more continuous shred time your shredder will need.
• What other features are you looking for? Look at options like noise level, size, shred capabilities, safety features, etc.

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Q. Shredders are so big, noisy and bulky. Is this just a necessary evil?

No. In fact Staples is launching two new shredders, the 10-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder and the 15-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredder, that have addressed these concerns.

• The 10–Sheet Shredder and 15–Sheet Shredder are ultra–quiet shredders that are narrow enough to fit in tight places, allowing them to be tucked into the corner of any room or office without sacrificing bin capacity. Their micro–cut shred means maximum security for confidential business and personal materials. This, along with the capacity to shred up to 10 sheets or 15 sheets of paper, staples, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, makes these Staples brand Shredders ideal for small business and home use.

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Q. Does Staples offer other shredders that can be used for small business and personal needs?

In addition to the new 10-Sheet and 15-Sheet Micro-Cut Shredders, Staples offers a wide variety of shredders including the MailMate M3™ and 12-Sheet Shredder, which offer quiet and streamlined design features.

• Designed to fit wherever you shred, be it your kitchen counter, desk or office, the new generation Staples MailMate M3™ shredder is powerful and built to destroy 12 full sheets of paper, unopened junk mail, credit cards, CDs and DVDs as well as to cut through standard staples and paper clips. The MailMate M3 has a slot to fit full-size sheets, which offers the same convenience of a full size 12–sheet shredder, but with a compact design. Staples MailMate M3 is a cross-cut shredder, and an easy solution for identity protection at work and at home.
• The 12-Sheet Shredder is an ultra–quiet shredder and is narrow enough to fit in tight places, allowing it to be tucked into the corner of any room or office without sacrificing bin capacity. Its diamond/cross–cut shreds mean enhanced security for confidential materials and personal documents alike. This, along with the capacity to shred up to 12 Sheets of paper, staples, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, makes the Staples 12–sheet Shredder ideal for home and small business use.

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Q. What makes a Staples® brand shredder better/different from others on the market?

Staples is committed to developing innovative products and services to make protecting personal security easy. To that end, we regularly conduct customer research to learn about customer frustrations with existing shredders so we can better develop an exclusive line of products that address their concerns, as well as anticipate future customer needs — things such as noise level, size, shred capabilities, safety features, etc. Many of the shredders in our assortment have innovative and unique features that cannot be found from other brands. All Staples brand shredders undergo an intense independent laboratory quality–testing program and are backed by a limited 1–year product warranty and a minimum 7–year cutter warranty.

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