GBC AutoFeed Plus 300M Shredder

The GBC AutoFeed+ 300M is the long-session model in GBC's micro-cut auto-feed line: it loads 300 sheets, runs for up to 60 minutes continuously, and cuts to DIN 66399 P-5 particles of 3/32 x 5/8 in (2 x 15 mm). It is built for hour-long clear-outs such as closing client files or an annual records purge, rather than a day's loose paper.

AutoFeed+ 300M at a glance

• 300-sheet hopper, more than half a ream at once
• 60 minutes of continuous run time, the longest in this group
• P-5 micro-cut, 30 mm2 per particle
• 8-sheet manual slot, 9 in wide
• 16-gallon bin; 55 dB

Why run time matters more than hopper size on the 300M

The 100M, 150M and 230M are rated for 20 or 30 minutes, enough for one hopper and then a rest. The 300M doubles the 230M's figure, so you can empty the bin, refill the hopper and keep going rather than waiting for the motor to cool. For a law office closing matters, an accounting practice after tax season or a clinic purging old charts, that is the feature you are paying for. The security is unchanged from the smaller M models: the same 30 mm2 particle, so the extra money buys throughput, not a finer cut.

Planning around a 16-gallon bin

Here is the catch to know before buying. The 300M shares its 16-gallon bin with the 230M while holding 70 more sheets per load, so the bin fills faster in relation to the hopper than on any other micro-cut model. The working pattern is load, run, check the bin, reload. Pressing the fine shred down buys extra room before you need to empty it. Liners are not in the box and no part number is published.

Put flat paper, staples and paper clips straight into the hopper. Send credit cards and anything folded, creased or glossy through the manual slot, since the feeder can mistake a fold for two sheets. Optical discs are not listed as accepted.

300M specification sheet

300M against the 230M, 300X and commercial cabinets

• AutoFeed+ 230M: identical cut, bin and noise; 230 sheets and 30 minutes in a slightly smaller 15 x 19 x 29 in cabinet. Enough if one load covers a session.
• AutoFeed+ 300X: the P-4 sibling with the same 300-sheet hopper and 16-gallon bin, plus a 10-sheet manual slot.
• GBC CX34-44 or Swingline CX40-59: continuous-duty walk-up cabinets at P-4 and P-3 for many users through the day.

Who should buy the 300M

Choose it if you shred in sittings and want P-5 without moving to a commercial cabinet. It is best treated as a batch machine for an office of up to about eight people. If a dozen colleagues each want to drop in a few pages throughout the day, they will queue at an 8-sheet slot; a walk-up commercial shredder fits that pattern better. P-5 is not intended for classified government material.