Before you specify
Frequently Asked Questions
Will 11 x 17 inch tabloid paper fit?
Yes, and it is the main reason to choose this model over the 260 TS C2 AO. The paper throat is 310 mm (12.2 inches), so a tabloid or ledger sheet feeds flat on its short edge with clearance. Sheet length is unrestricted, so long fold-out drawings go through as well. The 260 mm throat on the 260 chassis would require you to fold the same sheet, which doubles it against the sheet count.
Is it faster than the 260 TS C2 AO?
No, and that surprises people. Both take 10-12 sheets at 80 gsm from the same 3/4 HP motor with the same 1.9 x 15 mm micro-cut head. What the 270 gives you is a 310 mm throat instead of 260 mm and a 110-litre bin instead of 80 litres. Buy it for paper size and bin capacity. If you want more sheets per pass, you have to accept a coarser cut - the 260 TS C4 AO at P-4.
How many people can share it?
Comfortably a department of fifteen to thirty producing routine confidential paper. The 24-hour continuous-duty motor removes any thermal limit, so the practical constraints are the 10-12 sheet pass and the walk to the machine. The 110-litre bin means far fewer bag changes than the 80-litre cabinet, which is usually what makes a shared machine feel slow.
Do I need to oil it?
Only to the extent of refilling it. The AO designation means the automatic oiling system is fitted, so the micro-cut head is lubricated during operation without anyone intervening. Keep the reservoir topped up with Kobra shredder oil; once it is empty the machine keeps running dry, which is precisely the condition that wears out a 1.9 x 15 mm cutting head.
Is P-5 enough, or should I be looking at P-7?
P-5 is above the P-4 that commercial privacy practice normally expects and is a sound choice for client records, HR files, financial documents and medical paperwork. It is not sufficient where a policy names NSA/CSS Specification 02-01 or classified national security information - those require a 1 mm x 5 mm maximum particle and a model listed on the NSA Evaluated Products List. The 260 TS HS-6 AO meets both; this machine does not.
What happens to CDs and credit cards?
They go into a separate cutting unit with its own 123 mm throat and its own bin, so plastic fragments never reach the paper knives and the paper waste stays clean enough to recycle. Kobra rates that unit at O-1 for optical media, which destroys a disc for practical purposes but is not the fine destruction that classified optical media requires.
How much room does it need?
The cabinet is 53 x 43 x 88 cm (20.9 x 16.9 x 34.6 inch) and it weighs 101 lb, so allow a metre of clear floor in front for feeding and for pulling the bin out. It is on castors and rolls easily on hard floors, but it is a two-person lift over a step. Check door widths on the delivery route - 53 cm passes a standard doorway, but a loaded pallet may not.