Shredders - Which Reports in assocation with Tiscali

WHICH? REVIEWS: Shredders

We've found the shredders that are most likely to protect your identity

Our Best Buy shredders make confetti of papers fed into them, which will go a long way to protect your personal details and prevent your identity from being stolen.

They also score top marks in our durability tests so you can keep on shredding and shredding, and shredding, with them.

And our top Best Buy is also one of the most versatile models tested - being able to cope with credit cards, paperclips and staples as well.

While non-Best Buy shredders should destroy your documents satisfactorily, they will make harder work of it, taking longer to destroy the same amounts of paper.

You can find out our Best Buy recommendations by taking out a 30-day trial to www.which.co.uk. Below, we explain more about the features of shredders.

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 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 need 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.

So what's the best shredder for you? By taking out a 30-day trial to www.which.co.uk can discover all you need to know about shredders and find out our Best Buy recommendations.

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