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The MBM DestroyIt 3803 Strip-Cut shredder is a high-capacity centralized office shredder that is designed to meet the needs of a busy office setting. Here is a look at a few of the strengths and weaknesses of the DestroyIt 3803 Strip-Cut.
Strengths:
The 3803 Strip-Cut has a pretty powerful 1 Hp motor. The shredder’s cutting shafts are made from high-quality steel and come with a lifetime warranty from MBM. The system claims a sheet capacity of up to 23 sheets per pass and we didn’t have any trouble hitting that mark. It’s important to note, however, that these kind of results can vary a little bit depending on a couple of factors such as the quality of your power supply, the relative humidity in your geographical region, and the thickness of the paper you are shredding at any given time.
The 3803 Strip-Cut’s motor is rated for continuous use, meaning that you should be able to run the shredder just about as much as you want to. The motor features what MBM calls “double overheating protection,” which means that even if you do hit the shredder’s overheating zone, it will shut itself off for a cooling period.
The 3803 Strip-Cut shreds paper clips, staples and credit cards without any problem, but what we really appreciated was the shredder’s ability to handle compact discs. Confidential information comes in many forms these days, and it can be a little perplexing at times figuring out how to properly destroy items like CDs. The 3803 Strip-Cut makes it easy.
The 3803 Strip-Cut features an extra wide 16 inch throat width, so letter and legal sized sheets are easy handled, as well as larger sizes such as green bar computer printouts.
We always appreciate when shredder manufacturers pay attention to safety and we’re happy to say that the DestroyIt 3803 Strip Cut contains some nice safety features. There is a clear plastic guard across the feed opening that is controlled electronically and will keep fingers, clothing, and other objects well away from the cutting mechanism. There is also an automatic reverse mode should there ever be an accidental overfeed, and if the overfeed leads to a paper jam, the machine will shut itself off, preventing further problems. There is also automatic power cutoff when the bin door is ajar, and when the waste bag needs to be emptied.
The operation of the 3803 Strip-Cut could not be more plain and simple. It features a large, color coded and back-lit control pad. We like a machine that lets you know what mode it is in at all times, and the 3803 Strip-Cut excels in that regard. The shredder can be set for automatic on and off operation, so users can simply place the paper in the feed, and go on about their business with no need to turn the machine on and off.
The shred bag is a large forty two gallons, and the rollers that the bin comes on make it very easy to handle when emptying.
We like a machine that doesn’t noisily draw a lot of attention to itself when in operation, and the 3803 Strip-Cut excels in this regard as well.
Weaknesses:
Though the machine’s capacity is top notch in its class, as a strip-cut shredder, the 3803 doesn’t offer you a very high level of document security. If you need a shredder to make your office FACTA-compliant, we suggest you check out the Level 3 Security, cross cut version of the 3803.
This machine is a large centralized office shredder and as such, it comes with a fairly hefty pricetag. You might want to add this machine to your budget today if you think you might need it in the coming year.
