Best Reviewed
Paper Shredders
- Best paper shredder for home or small office Fellowes Intellishred PS-79Ci *Est. $180
- Budget home paper shredder Fellowes Powershred DS-3 *Est. $75
- Basic paper shredder for light duty Walmart 6-Sheet Crosscut Shredder with Easy Lift Handle *Est. $25
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- Large bin capacity
- Shreds CDs, DVDs
- Rarely jams
- Expensive
- Noisy
- One-year warranty
- Messy to empty
- Doesn't handle paper clips
Staples is a top-rated paper shredder brand, and this model is designed to shred CDs and DVDs as well as paper and credit cards (but not paper clips). The 15-Sheet Cross-Cut Staples SPL-TXC15A Shredder has an auto-reverse feature to help prevent jams, which reviews indicate works as advertised. As with all paper shredders, it's best to take the 15-sheet capacity with a grain of salt; owners report that 10 sheets at a time is more realistic. This model can run continuously for eight minutes but requires a 70-minute cool-down time before being used again.
Staples sells plastic liners for the bin; users say that ordinary trash bags also work. The main drawback is noise; it's rated at 75 decibels, which is much louder than most paper shredders. For a much quieter paper shredder that's better suited for heavy-duty shredding jobs, consider the top-rated Fellowes Intellishred PS-79Ci (*Est. $180).
ConsumerReports.org doesn't test this specific model, but does test three other Staples paper shredders, including another console model with a pull-out bin. We found about 1,800 owner-written reviews and ratings of the five-sheet Staples SPL-TXC15A paper shredder at Staples.com. The site summarizes the owners' pros and cons very well.
Our Sources
1. Staples.com
Of the approximately 1,800 customers reviewing the Staples SPL-TXC15A paper shredder at the manufacturer's site, 90 percent say they'd recommend this model to a friend. Users say the machine shreds quickly and works well on everything from paper to credit cards to DVDs. The main complaint is about noise. Some users also complain that it's messy and tricky to empty the bin.
Review: Staples 15-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder, Contributors to Staples.com
2. ConsumerReports.orgDetails/Subscribe
Objective tests here cover two less expensive Staples paper shredders plus a pricier Staples paper shredder rated at 22 sheets per pass. Though the 15-sheet Staples SPL-TXC15A model isn't tested here, it's useful to see how Staples paper shredders rank as a brand in these thorough comparison tests.
Review: Paper Shredders, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, October 2011
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