I purchased this one on impulse as a replacement for one that finally died of old age.

Why Aptiva? $$$

I chose this shredder because it was inexpensive, was not a strip cutter and looked appealing. When it arrived at the house, I was pleased. Set up was as easy as it gets. All I had to do is take it out of the box, put the top on and plug it in.

It also looked better than what was shown on the site. The basket is a decently heavy black mesh and the top is silver. There are three options, Reverse, Off and Auto. There's a green indicator light on the top that turns on when the button is set to auto or reverse.

About That Basket - It's Mesh

The mesh basket could annoy some people, but I found this appealing. Sure, the 'trash' is right there in plain sight, but the plus to this is not having to take off the top to see how full it is or, as the case usually is, waiting for it to jam.

A possible downside is that a curve on the lip is easily accessible to small fingers. A child, specifically a toddler, can easily slip small toys and things into the basket.

Other Things:

Since it cuts the paper into little diamonds, the basket doesn't fill up quickly as is the case with the strip cutters. The diamond cut is also more secure than the strip cuts. It's pretty easy to to empty the basket when it is full.

The top is very light and easy to remove. The basket has a curved lipped on one side that makes pouring it out easier. The overall weight is evenly distributed making it harder to tip over. The back is straight making it easier to put up against a wall.


Nuts, Bolts & Whistles:

(As shown on Office Depots site)

Item # 811584
Manufacturer # RTP-031799
number of sheets per pass: 6
throat width: 8 9/16 inches
cut style cross
shred size: 5/16" x 1 15/16"
accepts: credit cards; staples
overload protection: yes
integrated waste receptacle yes
waste receptacle capacity 3 3/5 gallons
manual reverse yes
automatic start/stop yes
maximum shred speed 9 fpm
full-bag indicator no
height 15 1/4 inches
width 12 inches
depth 7 3/4 inches
warranty 5-Year Limited
brand name Ativa
manufacturer Office Depot
model name DQ60M


Overall:

This is a nice, inexpensive shredder for light to medium shredding. It isn't very noisy and would be a good option for a home office.

Recommended: Yes

Purchase Price (if leased, monthly payment): 40
Machine age (Months in use): About 3 months