Even in a Reduced Paper Office a Shredder is Essential Equipment

By Gerry Morris

The subject of this month’s article is a device that isn’t really all that high tech. The reason I’m writing about it is because it works and works well. I’m talking about the piece of equipment that eats my junk mail, discarded drafts of documents, old credit cards, DVDs and CDs, paperclips and all. My topic is the Fellowes Powershred SB-97C Shredder.

Shredders aren’t as sexy to write about as high tech gadgets but when I find a piece of equipment that works as advertised and is priced reasonably I like to pass the information along. Even in my reduced paper office I still have a lot of waste paper to contend with. We print what we think are final copies of documents only to discover something that must be changed. I received documents from other sources that I review and decide not to keep or scan. I also receive a ton of junk mail every day just like everyone else. Regrettably the forests are going to be endangered for years to come.

All this paper has to go somewhere. The best way I’ve found to manage it is to have shredders in everyone’s office or workstation that is an end recipient of the paper flow. We shred it, and dispose of it. This obviously isn’t rocket science. The only challenge was to find shredders that are capable of handling the volume but don’t cost an arm and leg.

The first couple of shredders I tried couldn’t keep up the pace. I started with small shredders with capacity ratings of about 11 sheets at a time. These shredders overheated frequently causing them to shut down until they cooled. I eventually did a little more comparative shopping and purchased a Fellowes Powershred SB-97C. I then purchased another and another.

The 97C is a “confetti” shredder which means that it cross cuts the sheets into 5/32”x1 1/2“ particles. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to get any information from your discarded documents unless they really are serious about trying. It shreds up to 17 sheets of paper at a time and up to 204 sheets per minute. I’ve found this to be plenty of capacity for our volume of paper. Like all shredders, the 97C will shut down if it overheats but I’ve never had mine quit on me.

This shredder also cuts up credit cards, CDs and DVD, and just about anything else within reason. It will cut right through paperclips and staples so you don’t have to separate your documents before shredding them. It has a 10 gallon pull out wastebasket that accepts a plastic trash bag so it’s easy to get the shredded documents to the trash or recycling bin.
Features include a sensor on top near the intake slot that stops the shredder if hands get too close. It has the standard auto stop on jamming feature and a reverse switch.

Although Fellowes lists the suggested price as $419.98, the 97C sells for about $200 on line. (I just bought one from Amazon for $196). After about a year and a half of continuous use, I haven’t found a flaw in this machine.

E. G. “Gerry” Morris is a small firm practitioner and has practiced law for over 29 years in Austin, Texas. He is certified as a Criminal Law Specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His firm web site is at www.egmlaw.com. Email your comments and questions to Gerry at tech@egmlaw.com.