Royal 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder, Black

Does it’s job as well or better than expected. Efficient, compact, relatively quiet, and easy to empty (don’t have to lift off the heavy/awkward shredder head because the bin pulls open from the front). Have not tested this shredder with it’s maximum 12 sheet capacity but it works perfectly for my needs. Just need to be aware that the paper is not fed into this unit straight down, but angled more from the front ,which although less convenient does reduce the fear of something being placed into it accidentally ( ex. by a child). I did want to mention that the shredder arrived with a few bits of paper in the blades and bin, but the insert in the manual clarifies that this is intentional as part of the final test before packaging.
2 month follow up …I have used this shredder on an occasional and minimal (maybe 1-2 sheets /day) basis, and the auto function suddenly stopped functioning as it should (turned on on it’s own). The unit now stays on unless switched manually to off. I have read reviews of other Royal shredders having the same problem (see Costco). So, I would say it is still a great shredder but no longer has an auto on/off function. Keep that in mind when purchasing this unit.

Works good,used it a lot the first day we got it. Filled the basket about four times before it shut down to cool. Came back about 1/2 hour later and it was ready to go. It will be a great shredder for everyday use. The basket is a little bit on the lite side, but with care I’m sure it will last a long time. Our last machine was also a Royal that we had for at least 5 years and I’m sure it would still be going if we hadn’t put some sticky paper in it that got wrapped around the cutter and broke it. Not the machines fault at all. That why a bought a Royal again.

I get a lot of junk mail (credit card offers and the like), plus all sorts of financial updates I don’t really need. I’ve always been security conscious, and had a Fellows shredder for a number of years. It still works, and works just as it always has – poorly. It would only shred paper (no plastics) and only a couple of sheets at a time. You only knew it was getting full when you heard the motor straining, because there was no room to drop the shreds, and they were just getting mulched over and over. So to empty it, you had to remove the heavy shredder head. At this point, the bits of shred caught in the cutters would then fall all over the carpet.

This Royal is decidedly a cut (ha!) above the Fellows, though I paid about the same price for both. The Fellows required me to open up the envelopes, take out the mail, and manually feed in a few pages at a time. But the Royal will eat most junk mail, still sealed in the envelope. That’s a real time saver. It won’t take everything, of course, but it handles the majority of my mail.

The cross-cut pieces are a bit smaller than the Fellows, but not enough to make a real difference. There is a window built into the bin that lets you know at a glance when it needs to be emptied. And emptying is easy. No need to remove the cutter head. The bin just slides forward. Just empty it, slide it back in, and you’re good to go. No bits of shredded paper all over the floor.

I haven’t tried to shred any CD/DVDs yet, but I did have some expired credit cards to get rid of. It destroyed them with a very satisfying crunch.

There’s been some discussion about the casters. The main reason to install them (other than making it possible to roll the unit around), is that it makes sliding the bin out much easier, especially on carpet. I had no problem installing them, and they work fine. Omitted from the instruction manual is the fact that two of the casters are lockable, and two are free-wheeling. The lockable ones should go in the front. If you’re not going to be wheeling it around, lock the wheels so it doesn’t roll around when you pull the bin out.

All in all, a top-notch unit for the home or small office.

Working very well for shredding Credit Cards, Paper and Cards.