Dahle PaperSAFE PS 140 Paper Shredder, Oil Free / Hassle Free, Jam Protection, Security Level P-4, 10 Sheet Max, Shreds Staples, Paper Clips & Credit Cards

The Dahle PaperSAFE PS 140 is an oil-free P-4 cross-cut deskside shredder that takes 10 sheets of 20 lb paper per pass, twice the PS 100, in the same compact 4-gallon cabinet. It handles staples, paper clips and credit cards and needs no oil, bags or filters over its life. It is the better pick for one person who shreds regularly but has little floor space.

PS 140 key points

• 10 sheets per pass at 20 lb bond
• P-4 cross cut, about 84 mm² per particle
• 65 dB, quieter than the PS 100
• 4-gallon bin, emptied without bags
• 8.5 x 13.75 x 14.5 in and 9.5 lb
• Warranty: 1 year on the machine, 5 years on the cylinders

Double the pass of the PS 100 in the same footprint

From the outside the PS 140 and PS 100 look alike: same 8.75-inch feed, same 3/16 x 11/16 in particle, same 4-gallon bin and same cabinet dimensions. The difference is inside. The PS 140 doubles the sheet rating to 10, feeds at 11 ft/min and runs 5 dB quieter. It weighs 9.5 lb instead of 7.9 lb.

In practice, 10 sheets covers a folded multi-page letter with its enclosures in one go, so you stop splitting documents to stay under the limit.

What owning a PS 140 costs after purchase

Very little. The cutting cylinders run oil-free, so there are no oil sheets or bottles. The bin empties directly, so there are no bags. And PaperSAFE machines have no dust filter, so there is no filter to replace. Your running cost is electricity.

Dahle backs that design with a 5-year warranty on the cutting cylinders, which are the one part you cannot service yourself. The motor is thermally protected and starts and stops automatically, and the jam protection reverses an overfeed instead of stalling. It is designed for intermittent use, not for working through archive boxes in one sitting.

PaperSAFE PS 140 specifications

How the PS 140 compares

• PaperSAFE PS 100: the same cabinet at 5 sheets and 70 dB, for very light use.
• PaperSAFE PS 240: also 10 sheets, but adds disc shredding at O-3, a finer particle and a 7-gallon bin in a larger cabinet.
• PaperSAFE PS 260: 12 sheets per pass, 7 gallons and 60 dB, for a busier desk.

Is the PS 140 for you?

It is a good fit for a home office or a single desk that produces a steady stream of invoices, statements and client correspondence and wants a machine that keeps working without attention. Choose the PS 240 or above if you need to destroy CDs or DVDs, and a larger cabinet if more than one person will feed it, because a 4-gallon bin fills quickly when shared.