If you need a new paper shredder for your
office, the Fellowes Powershred B081C might be the machine you are
looking for thanks to its security rating and other features. Here are
its strengths and weaknesses:
If you need a new paper shredder for your
office, the Fellowes Powershred B-081C might be the machine you're
looking for thanks to its security rating and other features. Here are
its strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths:
There
are really just two types of paper shredders: strip-cut and cross-cut.
Cross-cut machines offer more security so they're good for confidential
documents like canceled checks, credit card applications, and so on. The
B-081C is a cross-cut device with a Level 3 security rating so your
information will stay under wraps.
This
shredder has the ability to start automatically when you place
something in the feed opening. The feed opening is 8.75" wide so it can
accommodate letter- and legal-sized documents without any problem. Up to
8 sheets can be shredded per pass. The machine's cutters are durable
enough to shred document fasteners and credit cards to help you save
time.
The B-081C can run
continuously for up to 10 minutes. The machine has a 4.7-gallon waste
bin so you and a co-worker can share it. (You could also use this
shredder at home, if you want.) The waste bin has a clear panel so
you'll be able to see how full it's getting. When the waste bin is full,
you can pull it out and recycle your shreds without a lot of hassle.
This
machine has approximate dimensions of 21" (height) x 14" (width) x 10"
(depth), so it's pretty compact. In fact, you can probably even store it
under a desk for easy access and to keep it out of the way. The machine
has casters on the bottom of it so you can move it around as needed.
Finally, the B-081C's cutters are backed by a 1-year warranty so you're covered in case anything goes wrong.
Weaknesses:
As
noted above, the B-081C can shred up to 8 sheets at once. This isn't a
huge amount, so this shredder might not be the best choice if you need a
device that can shred a lot of sheets in one go.
This
machine won't shred items like floppy disks and CD's. If you need to
shred various types of media, you should consider a multimedia shredder.
While
this shredder can run continuously for up to 10 minutes, you need to
let it rest for a full half-hour before using it again. This might be
problematic if you have a lot of paper to shred at once.
The
B-081C doesn't have Fellowes' SafeSense technology that causes the
machine to shut down when hands are too close to the feed opening. This
is a great feature and it would be nice if this shredder had it.
Overall,
the Fellowes Powershred B-081C is definitely a shredder that's suitable
for office use. This device has a decent shredding capacity and it's
nice that it can destroy credit cards. The machine offers a good level
of security so you can feel confident that your information is
protected. The B-081C does have some weaknesses, but if they don't
bother you, this shredder just might be the right one for your office
Jeff McRitchie is the Vice-President of Marketing for MyBinding.com.
He regularly writes articles, reviews, and blog posts on topics related
to bookbinding, laminating, paper shredding, and office equipment. More
than 2,500 of his reviews have been published in thousands of locations
on the Internet. If you're looking for information about paper shredders, his articles are a great place to start.
