Paper Shredder

Paper jams are frustrating. That’s why Fellowes® built the first 100% Jam Proof System for the Powershred™ line. Featuring this innovative technology, the Powershred™ PS-79Ci Cross-Cut Shredder electronically measures paper thickness to eliminate jams and power through tough jobs. Our higher standards ensure you get the most reliable shredder you can buy – safer, faster, easier to use, and 100% Jam Proof.

User Reviews about Fellowes Intellishred PS-79Ci Shredder (CRC32279.1)

When is a $150 shredder cheaper than a $60 shredder? When the $150 shredder is a high-performance, quiet, "smart" shredder--engineered to last.

Any sub-$100 shredder is going to cost you more than the Fellowes Intellishred PS-79Ci shredder, because you'll have to replace the cheap shredder. There are also a lot of less tangible perks of using a smart shredder: you don't have to check the bin to see if it's full (the shredder has an indicator light for that), you can watch TV or talk on the phone while you shred, and you don't have to count how many sheets you're feeding into it or ever worry about whether you're going to have to spend 5 minutes trying to unjam a wad of paper. Sure, this shredder is a little pricey for a home or small office shredder, but you won't be disappointed. As with many things in life, you get what you pay for when you buy a shredder. I've owned three Royal shredders (one at home and two at work), around the $60-$70 price range, and they all pale in comparison to the Fellowes shredder. If the shredders don't break or wear out on the Royal models, the sensors do. I remember returning home one day after work to find that my shredder had probably been running nonstop for hours, with nothing in it. The top of the shredder was so hot, I'm surprised it didn't melt the plastic or catch on fire!

In my experience, there are two things that kill shredders: jams and a backed-up paper bin. The Fellowes Intellishred series of shredders tackles both problems with properly-engineered solutions. First, the machine won't shred anything that's too thick--which means you typically won't be able to cause a jam, in the first place. There is one caveat: once you get the shredder to start shredding something, it will continue shredding that item even if part of it is thicker. If it does happen to jam, it backs up, gets a running start, and tries again, probably 2 or 3 times, until it realizes that it's really dealing with user error.

Second, the motor is overengineered for this shredder--it's not just the bare minimum, like with various Royal brand shredders that I've owned & used. There's actually a "power through it" button which you can press if the shredder stops because the sensor thinks you're shredding something too thick. For example, sometimes it thinks unopened mail (such as a credit card offer) is too thick, but you can power through it without causing any strain on the shredder. Another nice advantage to having an overpowered motor is that the thing runs very quietly. You can shred stuff in the same room as your office mates without bothering anyone. You could probably even use it at home without drowning out the sound of the TV.

Third, the shredder has a sensor which detects when the bin is full! While an overfilled bin is an annoyance (shreds fall everywhere when you pull it out), it's also probably the single least-suspected cause of shredder death. On one of our old shredders, I observed that when the bin gets too full, shreds get backed up and put extra strain on the motor as it tries to compact more shreds into the bin. When the shreds back up, they also start to put pressure on components which normally don't have pressure against them, and the pressure warps or breaks these components. At the same time, shreds get pressed into little nooks and crannies where they were never meant to go, eventually finding themselves in the gearbox with the motor. The wandering shreds then soak up all the lubrication, and some of them start to get jammed in the gears, burning out the motor. (I was able to return the previous shredder to "like new" performance by completely dismantling it and cleaning out all the shreds that had gotten into places where they shouldn't have been.) By preventing the bin from ever overfilling, the Fellowes Intellishred prolongs the life of the motor and other critical components.

One of my office mates tried abusing the shredder for half an hour to get it to jam. Eventually, he did succeed, but only by putting a stack of paper in sideways and tricking the shredder to suck the paper in anyway. Ultimately, the shredder gave up, and even the "power through it" button wasn't enough. He had to repeatedly hit the reverse and forward buttons, and manually tear pieces of the paper off of the jammed mess. But just keep in mind that this was the same guy who stuck peanut butter sandwiches and Doritos through our first office shredder three years ago. I'm convinced that there's no way you can accidentally break or jam the Intellishred. -- Amazing shredder! Quiet, built to last, and SMART. Cheaper than less expensive shredders in the long run.

This is simply the best shredder you can get. If you are thinking about getting a shredder, but want to go a bit cheaper, and just cannot pull the trigger on the fellows shredder because of the price, please think again. I have bought many cheapo shredders before, even though they are cheap, they cost anywhere around $50, and they usually break or motors burn out after some use. If I were to do it again, I would have just bought this from the beginning. The best thing about the fellows shredder is the feeling you get when shoving down unopened credit card offer spam and seeing it obliterated. -- Simply the best shredder

I am very happy with this purchase. Beats my previous Staples Mailmate shredder hands down. Solidly constructed, very quiet operation. It is safer (fingers won't fit in the slot) than most shredders. It also has a mechanism to detect paper jams before they happen - convenient but sometimes leads to "false positives" - it incorrectly thought some envelopes were too thick. This didn't bother me too much since there is a manual override. The bin is large and the shredder detects when the bin is full. -- Excellent shredder

Excellent over-all, however ,other than looks and construction the machine will delay at times as I deposit the paper to be shredded even low thickness will not go through unless I enter more than once. Not liking that part of the operation. -- Fellows Paper Shredder

This is a big improvement over my last Fellowes shredder. Although I have not had it long, it is quiet, easier to empty( without the bag) and shreds much better.

I will admit, I only learned that I was supposed to oil these things periodically, fairly recently. So I am sure that is the reason my last one broke!

Still, this one is definitely a better shredder and far more QUIET!!

I would definitely recommend it! -- Good so far