Strip-Cut Shredders for Low Security Shredding
Everything to know about strip cutting shredders
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With a strip-cut paper shredder, you can shred paper documents into long, narrow strips. This type of shredder advantage is that you can shred quickly and easily because of the single cutting mechanism.
The downside of strip cutting shredder machines is that they offer less data protection than a cross-cut or micro-cut paper shredder.
Top 5 Best Strip-Cut Paper Shredders
A strip-cut shredder is a perfect shredder option when you want to shred non-confidential documents, like junk mail. So what are the best strip-cut shredder machines you can buy?
Below we’ve selected a few strip cutting shredders for personal use for occasional shredding documents at home. You can also find reliable commercial shredders for the office environment for more heavy-duty shredding tasks.
Please note: The paper shredders below are security level P-1 or P-2. These are not recommended for shredding confidential documents.
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#1 | HSM shredstar S25
Recommended for home office use
Our #1 Best Seller
The HSM shredstar S25 is a compact and modern looking paper shredder packed with features. This strip-cut shredder shreds up to 25 sheets per pass and the strips fall into a 6.9-gallon pull-out waste bin. The anti-jam technology prevents any paper jams. Besides documents, you can also shred staples, paper clips, credit cards, CDs, and DVDs. A separate waste container is mounted inside the shredder to hold shredded CDs, so you keep your shredded paper clean. The shredder is pleasantly quiet because it operates at only 57 dB.
- Security level: Strip-cut P-2
- Run time: 15 minutes
- Sheet capacity: 25 pages
- Bin capacity: 6.9 gallons
#2 | AmazonBasics 8-Sheet
Budget-friendly under $50
The AmazonBasics 8-Sheet is a budget-friendly strip-cut shredder that offers great value for money. This Amazon paper shredder can shred up to 8 sheets of paper into 1/4-inch strips. The basic strip-cut shredder can shred up to 2 minutes before it overheats, then you need to let the shredder cool down for about 15 minutes. The shredder is very compact and portable so that you can move it around easily. The waste bin has a small capacity of only 3.2 gallons. Therefore this shredder is only recommended for incidental shredding of non-confidential documents at home.
- Security level: Strip-cut P-2
- Run time: 2 minutes
- Sheet capacity: 8 pages
- Bin capacity: 3.2 gallons
#3 | Fellowes Powershred 90S
Recommended for deskside office use
The Fellowes Powershred 90S is a great shredder for small office use for 1-3 users. With the 90S shredding machine, you can shred up to 18 sheets per pass. You can also use this shredder for destroying your old credit cards, CDs and DVDs. The motor of the Fellowes Powershred 90s runs for up to 25 minutes before it needs to cool down. This office shredder is ideal for medium-duty shredding of non-confidential documents at your desk.
- Security level: Strip-cut P-2
- Run time: 25 minutes
- Sheet capacity: 18 pages
- Bin capacity: 9 gallons
#4 | Fellowes Powershred 225i
Recommended for heavy-duty commercial shredding
The Fellowes Powershred 225i is a heavy-duty strip-cut shredder for shredding high volumes of non-confidential documents continuously, such as junk mail or old documents which don’t contain sensitive information. The large shredder from Fellowes shreds up to 22 papers per pass into P-2 strips. It can also shred staples and paper clips without any problem. Destroying CDs, DVDs, and all type of plastic cards is also possible. The jam-proof technology prevents any paper jams, and the SafeSence technology makes sure that the shredder stops running when hands touch to feed opening.
- Security level: Strip-cut P-2
- Run time: Continuous
- Sheet capacity: 22 pages
- Bin capacity: 14 gallons
#5 | Fellowes Powershred 70S
Recommended for personal use at home
The Fellowes Powershred 70S is a reliable paper shredder for personal use at home. You can shred up to 14 sheets of paper per pass for 12 minutes straight with this shredder. The shredder shreds your documents into 36 strips per document. After these 12 minutes, the machine needs to cool down. You can also shred your old CDs, DVDs, credit cards, and junk mail with the Fellowes shredder. The shredder is safe to use because a safety sensor detects when hands touch the feed opening, which immediately deactivates the shredder.
- Security level: Strip-cut P-2
- Run time: 12 minutes
- Sheet capacity: 14 pages
- Bin capacity: 7 gallons
More about strip-cut shredders
Navigation:
- What is a strip-cut shredder machine?
- Which security level is strip-cut?
- How does a strip-cut paper shredder work?
- Pros and cons
- Maintenance of strip-cut shredders
- Is a strip-cut shredder the best type of shredder?
- Shredder guide
A strip-cut shredder shreds your documents quickly but offers low security.
What is a strip-cut shredder machine?
A strip-cut shredder is a basic paper shredder for shredding non-confidential documents. Strip-cut shredders shred documents vertically in long narrow strips. These strips might still contain readable parts of text and visuals, graphics, signatures, or photos.
There are all kinds of strip-cut shredders available. It ranges from small and compact personal shredders you can use at home up to commercial shredders you can use at the office and even large industrial shredders for high volume shredding.
One A4 document ends up in approximately 39 strips when it is shredded with a P-2 paper shredder.
Long strips might be still readable
Strip-cutting shredders are also called ribbon-cut, spaghetti-cut, or straight-cut shredders. The shredding machines produce long strips of paper.
Therefore, these machines are not recommended to destroy confidential or sensitive documents, especially when you want to shred documents printed in landscape mode.
Be aware of ‘landscaping’ with a strip-cut shredder.
Why is that? Well, when you shred a landscape-oriented printed document with a strip cut shredder, you can read full sentences of text or data on each strip.
This so-called ‘landscaping’ really forms a data risk when the document contains highly confidential information. With a cross-cut shredder or micro-cut shredder, you won’t experience this.
Which security level is strip-cut?
Are strip-cut shredders secure and safe to use? This category of paper shredders is a security level P-1 or P-2, according to the official DIN 66399 standard.
This means that these shredders offer the least amount of data protection. A P-1 strip-cut shredder produces the largest strips when shredding a document. One P-1 strip particle is 0.47 inches wide, a P-2 strip is 0.23 inches wide and offers a bit more security. Read more about the shredder DIN security levels.
Use a strip cut shredder for:
- Low level of security
- For shredding non-sensitive documents
- Long narrow vertical paper strips, like spaghetti
- Cuts only vertically
- Approximately 39 strips per shredded document (size: A4)
- Security level: DIN P-1, DIN P-2
How does a strip-cut paper shredder work?
In contrary to cross-cut shredders, a strip-cut shredder contains a single blade to cut paper documents. Because of the single cutting blade, the machine produces strips instead of small cross-cut shreds. Instead of cutting a document in a cross-shaped pattern, a strip cutting paper shredder only shreds a document vertically.
The length of a strip depends on the dimensions of the document you are shredding. In other words, it remains the same length as the original document.
Because a strip-cut paper shredder shreds a document vertically, it requires less power from the motor than higher security shredders.
This means that generally, a strip-cut shredder can shred documents much faster than a similar cross-cut or micro-cut paper shredder. The only caveat is that it offers less data security, so therefore these shredders are more recommended for non-confidential documents that don’t contain personal information or sensitive data.
A strip-cut shredder makes a ‘spaghetti’ from your documents.
Check best micro cut shredders
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Shred documents faster than a cross-cut shredder.
- Requires less maintenance compared to higher security shredders.
- Ideal for shredding high volumes of documents quickly.
- Less expensive than a similar cross-cut or micro-cut shredder.
- The single blade produces less dust.
- A strip-cut shredder is generally more quiet.
Cons:
- Offers minimal data security and protection.
- Paper strips fills up the waste bin faster than cross-cut particles.
- Strips can still contain readable text.
Maintenance of strip-cut shredders
Like every shredder, a strip-cut shredding machine also requires maintenance. But it needs less maintenance than a cross-cut shredder because of the single cutting blade.
The most important thing is that you keep the blade running smoothly. And you do this by using official paper shredder oil or a paper shredder lubricant. For the best performance of your strip-cut shredder, it is recommended to oil or lubricate the blade every time you empty the wastebasket or after an intensive shredding session.
Please read the instruction manual for further tips for maintaining your shredder in optimal condition.
Read more about how to oil your shredder.
Is a strip-cut shredder the best type of shredder?
We recommend using at least a cross-cut shredder when you want to use a shredder for destroying confidential documents at home or work. But when you only want to use a paper shredder for shredding random documents that don’t contain sensitive information, then a strip-cut shredder is the best option for you.
Especially because strip-cut shredders are less expensive, they are faster and can shred higher quantities of paper at once compared to a similar shredder with a higher security level.
Tip: Check out all strip-cut shredders at Amazon
Shredder guide
What to look for when buying a shredder? Read our Paper Shredder Buying Guide.
Paper shredders for home or office
By Recycling.com/ 24 February 2021