Dahle 20835 EC Level 6 Cross Cut High Security Paper Shredder Review

As a Level 6 paper shredder, the 20835 EC is designed to meet the needs of government agencies and their contractors who require the highest level of security available. Here is an in-depth look at some of this machine's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths:

1. The most obvious strength of the 20835 EC is its ability to shred documents at a security level of 6, which is the highest security level available on any paper shredder anywhere, and is rated by the National Security Agency for use by the military and Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and other such government agencies. While this sort of security might be a bit of overkill for the average business, if you are subcontracted by any of these agencies, or even by some other federal, state, and local governments, you may well be required to have a shredder on hand that can meet the highest security level.
2. The 20835 EC is designed to be centrally placed within a busy office, and used periodically throughout the day. Its sheet capacity of 12 pages at a time, and a very respectable speed of 20 feet per hour make this one of the highest capacity Level 6 shredders that we have seen.
3. The feed opening of 16 inches is another great feature of the 20835 EC. A feed opening this wide will not only easily accommodate letter, legal, A4 and A5 sheets, but also that extra wide computer printout paper.
4. The cutting mechanism and heads of the 20835 EC are second to none. The cylinders are milled from a single bar of the best German steel, a design that greatly increases durability and reduces the possibility of flexing. The cylinders are run by a gear and chain system that gives the machine slip free power greatly helping in preventing paper jams and increasing throughput capacity.
5. The waste bin on this machine is very large at 35 gallons. What is great about this is that the shreds that the 20835 EC are so small, the shred bin will need to be emptied much less often than with a strip cut or larger cross cut machine.

Weaknesses:

1. High security and high capacity do not always to hand in hand. The 20835 EC cuts the average sheet of paper into 15,000 particles, which is astounding be anyone's measure, but its sheet capacity of 12, while impressive for a Level 6 machine, is not very high compared to your average shredder. What you will have to ask yourself, then, is whether your organization absolutely needs this kind of security. If you are a government agency, or are contracted by one, the answer of course is yes. If, however, you are just a business that is looking to become FACTA compliant, Dahle (and several other manufacturers) make lots of Level 3 cross cut shredders that are less expensive and can shred more documents at a time, thus increasing your productivity.
2. Because the high-security cutting heads are warranted for only one year (two years for the rest of the machine) you will want to make sure that you oil them on a regular basis to keep them working their best. Dahle makes available a self oiling system that makes this routine maintenance a lot easier.

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