Strip-cut shredders produce long strips of a preset  width,1/8 and 1/4 inch being the most common. The  1/4 inch strip-cut shredder remains the most popular  type of shredder sold for several reasons. First, the  relatively low tooling and manufacturing costs  translate into a very attractive purchase price to the  end user. Also, the limited amount of cutting being  done (in comparison to a cross-cut shredder )  results in a greater cutting capacity (sheets per  pass). However, the very same buoyant and fluffy characteristic which makes strip-cut shreds  excellent for packing material will create additional work for the shredder operator.

Cross Cut Shredders

 Cross-cut shredders have specially milled cutting  cylinders to achieve a dual cutting action that  produces particles of uniform length and width. The  commercial cross-cut is rapidly becoming the  shredder of preference for business use, in spite of its  higher price tag. Cross cut paper shredders offer  increased security (because the shred is much  smaller), but they don't shred as many sheets at the  same time. The double cutting action of a cross-cut  produces a rectangular shred particle which drops  freely into the waste bag and lies flat. During operation these shreds collect like falling snow.  The flat, self compressing nature of the cross-cut particle results in a bag capacity of 2 to 5  times more than the strip cut shredder. The minimal operator handling results in a cleaner  operating environment in addition to the enhanced productivity.

Micro Cut Shredders

There is a variation of the cross cut shredder called a Micro Cut. The difference is that the shred size is much smaller that literally turns paper into dust and offers highest level of security. Two different levels of document security are now available in the high security (micro cut) paper shredder classification. The first level of high security shredders is capable of reducing an 8 ½ x 11 inch sheet of paper into 6,093 unrecognizable pieces. Paper shredders that meet the new NSA/CSS standards go even further and provide a way to destroy top secret government and military documents; turning a single sheet of paper into a minimum of 12,064.5 particles.