Fellowes W-11C Deskside Cross Cut Paper Shredder

If you're looking for a paper shredder to use at home, one device to consider is the Fellowes PowerShred W-11C. It's a cross-cut machine that can help you protect yourself against identity theft and it's safe enough to use around children and pets. Check out its strengths and weaknesses so you can decide if this is the right shredder for you:

Strengths:

• The W-11C is a cross-cut shredder so it offers a pretty good amount of security – in fact it has a Level 3 rating. (There are 6 security ratings with 6 being the highest.) Instead of a strip-cut machine that will simply turn your paper into a handful of spaghetti-like strips, this device will turn it into countless 5/32” x 2” bits so your documents can never be reassembled.
• In addition to paper, this device can take care of any unwanted credit/debit cards you may have. It will also chew up any staples you leave in your documents.
• This is a deskside shredder that can tear up as many as 11 sheets of paper at a time. Not a lot of deskside shredders can process as much paper as this one can in one pass, which helps it stand out.
• Paper jams may occur when using this shredder but if you experience one, it's not a big deal. The W-11C has a reverse mode you can use to back things up and fix the problem.
• This machine will start and stop operating automatically. It can run continuously for 5 minutes so you'll be able to shred a lot of documents in that amount of time.
• The W-11C is safe to use in the home because it's equipped with a patented safety lock. This feature disables the machine when it's not in use so kids and pets won't have an accident with it. Also, this feature will help you save power which is always a good thing.
• This machine is covered by a very generous three-year warranty.

Weaknesses:

• The W-11C has a feed opening that's 9 inches wide. While this is perfect for letter- and legal-sized documents (8.5” x 11”), it's not so good for larger ones. You'll either have to fold or cut them up before running them through the machine.
• Since this is a small device, its waste bin can only hold 5.5 gallons of shreds. If you use this shredder frequently, you'll have to empty the waste bin pretty frequently.
• While the W-11C can run non-stop for 5 minutes, it needs 20 minutes to cool down afterward. This could be a bit inconvenient at times.

The Fellowes PowerShred W-11C is a good little deskside paper shredder despite its handful of weaknesses. This product has a great shredding capacity which will come in handy when you're doing paperwork at home. It's great that it has a Level 3 security rating and that will take care of your expired credit and debit cards. You'll greatly reduce your chances of being an identity theft victim when you use this product. Plus, it's safe to use around kids and pets, and the warranty can't be beat. If you need a paper shredder for home use, take a look at the W-11CC. It may be the right one for you.