subject: Dahle 30414 Shredder Review [print this page] Shredders are no longer a luxury in today's world. With the onset of identity theft and increasing incidences of corporate espionage (not to mention federal regulations mandating the destruction of personal information) it is absolutely necessary for your office to have a shredder on site, and ready to use at all times. Dahle is one manufacturer who makes a number of high quality office shredders. Here we take a look at their 30414 Multi + Media Shredder, and give you a list of what we consider to be this machines strengths and weaknesses.
Strengths:
1.) These days, you will find that your confidential information is stored in a lot of different formats, so it makes sense to have a shredder that can deal with all of them. The 30414 is just such a machine, as it can easily shred CDs, DVDs, and even floppy discs. This is a great feature for busy office settings, where there will be multiple users with different needs.
2.) The 30414 has a rather impressive workload capacity of two to eight thousand sheets per day. Overheating is often a problem with shredders, but we had no such problems with this machine when operating within its stated capacity.
3.) It seems that these days design matters more and more, and we find that the 30414 is one of the best, most modern looking shredders on the market. The European look of the machine is a definite step up from the standard utilitarian look that most of the other companies seem to favor. The cabinets are made of wood, which not only enhances the "class" factor, it makes the machine a lot quieter than many others on the market.
4.) The 30414 features chain driven operation to the cutters, which virtually guarantees slip free function of the machine. The motor is a powerful one at one and a quarter horsepower, and the cutting cylinders are made from German steel. This is obviously a machine that is built to do a lot of work, and to give your office years of use if properly maintained.
5.) We found the LED control pad extremely simple to use (just three settings: forward, reverse, and continuous) and really liked how well lit the pad was, and how it was easy to tell what function the machine was set for at all times. This is a nice safety feature, as is the audible and visible indicators that let you know when the bag is full.
Weaknesses:
1.) The feed opening width of twelve inches is sufficient for a majority of paper sizes, but if you are going to be shredding larger documents on a regular basis you will either need to fold or cut them first.
2.) A lot of people aren't aware that shredders need to be oiled on a regular basis, and to help with that many manufacturers have included auto oil systems with their machines. The 30414 does not have such a system in place, so you will have to make that you keep it oiled yourself. This is not a big deal, just something you should be aware of.
by: Jeffrey McRitchie
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