For all intent and purposes there are only two styles of shredders; a strip cut shredder and a crosscut paper shredder. You may wonder why then do they sell other forms of cut shredders and the answer is because in order for you to obtain a confetti or micro cut, your machine must make a crosscut. Shredding paper is actually somewhat new to the general public and can be confusing if you don't know what to look for. Most businesses and private homeowners use shredding equipment to ensure their confidential information remains confidential and is safe from thieves.

Security is the most common reason for someone to purchase a crosscut paper shredder. These are the most efficient shredders available to the public. Some commercial equipment can actually pulverize a document into paper dust and they would be the best type to have but are unavailable to the public. Since these are sold only to businesses the public is left with shredders that are easier to operate and less likely to catch fire like the Powershred DS-1 Shredder. This is a crosscut shredder that is meant for home use much like the Destroyit 2403 Deskside Shredder. Both reduce your sensitive information to small pieces that make it almost impossible to reproduce.

Shredders that only cut your documents into long strips make identity theft possible with only a little effort. Some make it more difficult by shredding them into 1/16" strips but they are still strips and easy to reassemble. A crosscut shredder like the ROYAL 29124X Medium-Duty Crosscut Shredder or the Intellishred SB-89Ci Jam Proof Shredder makes identity theft impossible. Some even feature a jam proof mechanism like the Intellishred SB-89Ci Jam Proof Shredder. This prevents jamming of the cutting mechanism by reversing the cutters when a document begins to gather. These shredders as well as others can be found online at various retailers at discounted prices.

Unlike the ROYAL 29124X Medium-Duty Crosscut Shredder some are heavy duty shredders which can handle CDs, DVDs, staples, paper clips and credit cards. Most heavy duty shredders can handle these items as well as 3.5" floppy disks which may contain personal or sensitive information as well. They are capable of shredding up to 15 pages per swipe from a maximum of 5 people. The Destroyit 2403 Deskside Shredder is one that will shred up to 12 pages from 3 users and can be found online at SHOP.COM or other online retailers like buyonlinenow.com.

You can see that crosscut shredders are the best available for private use. They not only give you security in knowing your information is safe but they reduce your overall garbage waste too. Whether you are looking for a heavy duty machine or a commercial one, you can't go wrong shopping online. A shredder like the Powershred DS-1 Shredder is a handy piece of equipment to keep around. You can be assured that your personal information is secure with one of these shredders.