Shredders: Features explained
With identity theft costing the UK almost £2 billion a year, shredding personal information is more important than ever.
Destroying paperwork and other materials that contain confidential information makes the criminal's task much harder, so you need to be sure your shredder meets these needs.
Cut types
Cross cut
Cross-cut shredders slice documents in two directions and into small enough pieces to ensure that they're difficult to reassemble and your details are unreadable.
Diamond cut
Diamond cutters shred your documents into diamond shapes, but they're just as likely as cross cutters to protect your identity.
Strip and ribbon cut
Strip- and ribbon-cut shredders can cut your documents into long strips that could be reassembled by a dedicated fraudster, so we don't recommend these models.
Features
Bin size
Choose a shredder with a large bin if you're likely to do a lot of shredding, or you'll be forever emptying it. A 10 litre bin might take around 60 shredded sheets.
Bin transparency
A bin window, or transparent bin, allow you to see when the filling up so you can empty before it overflows and stops the shredder working.
CD slot
Some shredders can destroy CDs and DVDs, either through the main or a separate slot. Some shredders will only strip cut discs, but this is enough to destroy them.
Credit cards can be shredded by certain models
Credit card slot
Certain shredders can also destroy credit cards, again via the main or a separate slot. However, strip cutters could leave personal data showing.
Maximum page load
Check how many sheets a model can destroy in one pass. If you're going to be shredding regularly, you might needed the highest number possible.
Paperclip and staple slots
Some models of shredder can shred paperclips and staples without damaging their cutters.
Slot size
Some shredders only have A5 size slots, so A4 sheets must be folded.
Safety functions
Auto start
All the shredders tested start automatically when you feed in paper, so your fingers don't have to stray near the cutters.
Auto stop
This feature will stop the shredder should it become jammed, for example, when too much paper is fed in at once.
Bin safety flap
This flap prevents more paper being shredded as the bin gets full.
Bin top interlock
With this, the cutters will only work when the bin top is on.
Motor reverse
Auto reverse functions are useful in case of jams. The motor turns backwards, hopefully causing it to spit out whatever caused the clog.
Thermal safety switch
If you overwork and overheat the shredder, this feature will stop operation.