There's a shredder for every security need

Eric Cayton shreds everything.

Bank statements, credit card applications, work papers, CDs. You name it, Cayton has shredded it.

''It's better to be safe than sorry," says Cayton, the shredder buyer for Staples Inc. the Framingham office supplies giant.

For many consumers, growing concerns over identity theft have made shredders the latest must-have home accessory. But the booming $350 million shredder industry has left shoppers with an overwhelming selection of machines with more features than ever.

Cayton, who uses a $120 heavy-duty InfoGuard 12-sheet cross-cut shredder at home, says there are three questions buyers must ask themselves before purchasing a new shredder.

First, how much do you shred? What kind of security do you want? And what do you shred?

The biggest mistake consumers make, Cayton says, is underestimating the amount of shredding they will do. What matters is not just the number of sheets you shred at one time, but also how often you plan to shred.

Typically, light-duty shredders, such as the $40 Executive cross-cut shredder, can handle up to 25 uses per day, six sheets at a time, and run between five and 10 minutes at a time.

Staples' new $70 medium-duty shredder is recommended for up to 50 uses per day, eight to ten sheets at a time, and they can run for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Consumers planning to shred up to 100 times a day should opt for a heavy-duty shredder.

First-time buyers often select the cheaper, light-duty shredders, Cayton says, and then get impatient, jam in more paper than the machine can handle, and run the shredder until it overheats.

''Even if you only shred once a week, but you let the papers build up, you end up shredding dozens of papers at one time and a light-duty can't handle that," Cayton said. ''Either get a medium-duty or change your shredding habits."

Shredding technology has vastly improved over the past few years and consumers can select the type of security that suits their needs. The most basic models offer a strip cut, which slices a few pieces of paper into thin strips. If thieves wanted to take the time, Cayton said, they could probably piece the papers back together.

The cross-cut method is increasingly popular and offers a higher-level of security that cuts the papers into a confetti shape. Some of the commercial models offer a micro-cut, which shreds documents up to five times smaller than the standard cross-cut. But these don't come cheap, costing nearly $1,000.

''It's Department of Defense-type shredding," Cayton said. ''It comes out like dust."

Over the past few years, shredding manufacturers have made it more affordable for consumers to slice and dice everything from credit cards to paper clips to DVDs. People content with shredding only paper documents can stick to the light-duty machines. But more and more, consumers are dumping CDs and credit card offers right into the shredder. Cayton recommends a medium-duty machine, at a minimum, for these uses, or warns the shredder will wear out quickly.

The biggest pet peeve for many consumers -- having to manually feed the shredder -- hasn't been solved yet, at least not at an affordable price. Auto-feed shredders designed for commercial use cost thousands of dollars.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.