Swingline EX12-05 Cross-cut Personal Shredder

This may come as a surprise, but stapler manufacturer Swingline has started putting out their own paper shredders. These devices are designed to replace the old GBC shredders and there are some good ones available such as the EX12-05. This is one of the most advanced machines in Swingline's personal shredder line so it's definitely worth a look even though it has a couple of quirks. Here are its strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths:

• The EX12-05 can be used to shred paper documents, CD's, and credit cards. The paper feed opening is 9" wide to accommodate letter- and legal-sized sheets. There's even another opening for CD's. When you're shredding paper, you'll be able to process up to 14 sheets at a time. It's a great solution if you need to dispose of various letters, bills, and so on.

• This is one of Swingline's eco-friendly shredders. It will turn off when you're not using it so that electricity isn't wasted. This feature also helps keep the motor in good shape so you don't have to worry about repairs.

• The EX12-05 can shred continuously for up to 4 minutes which should be just fine for personal use. There is a fairly lengthy cool-off time though, which is discussed in more detail in the next section.

• If you want a shredder that looks great, this is definitely one you should consider. It has an attractive black and silver color scheme, and the top is angled which makes it easy to use. It measures 16" (height) x 9" (width) x 17" (depth) and it can fair in fairly tight places.

• One particularly great thing about the EX12-05 is that its cutting mechanism is covered for a full 5 years. The other parts are covered for 2.

Weaknesses:

• The EX12-05 has a 5-gallon waste bin with a viewing window in it. (The window will help you gauge how many shreds are in the bin.) The size of the bin should be fine if you're the only one using this shredder. However, it might not be large enough if you need to share it with someone.

• This machine doesn't have any special anti-jam technology. You should be careful when feeding paper into it so you don't end up jamming it. Also, you need to oil this machine manually. There isn't an automatic oiler available for it.

• The EX12-05 needs 40 minutes to completely cool off after each continuous-duty cycle. This will be problematic if you need to shred constantly, so be sure to think about how much you'll really need to shred before buying this device.

As you can tell by looking at the list of weaknesses, the Swingline EX12-05 isn't a perfect machine due to its small waste bin and the lack of an anti-jam features. However, its strengths make up for it, especially the automatic shut-off feature. All together, the EX12-05 is a good shredder, so make sure to check it out if you need something that can help protect you from identity theft.