When it comes to paper cutters, there is one common factor among the top brands. They are almost all German engineered or German made. German paper cutters are considered to be some of the best built and the longest-lasting lines around.

Owning several German cars (VWs), I have a certain appreciation for German engineering. While perhaps not the most popular line of cars here in the U.S., German engines are often considered so tough they can take a bullet and keep running. The same is the case with German paper cutters. They are tough.

The most popular German paper cutting brands I can think of are Dahle paper cutters (guillotines & stack cutters) and MBMs line of Triumph and Kutrimmer paper cutters (by IDEAL). These paper cutters are asked for by name and have gained an impressive reputation in the paper cutting industry and among our customers.

The only cutter I can think of that even compares to the German paper cutters is the British-made Rotatrim. As far as I know, the Rotatrims don’t leak any oil (sorry, a little car humor). Rotatrim is an excellent brand of paper cutter.

If you are looking for German-made paper cutters, these are the brands you’ll want to check out:

Dahle – Dahle makes a wide variety of guillotine cutters, rotary paper cutters and stack paper cutters. These paper cutters are typically the most affordable of the German-engineered paper cutters. You can find our Dahle paper cutters here.

Kutrimmer – Kutrimmer (by IDEAL) is a line of guillotine paper cutters distributed by MBM. These guillotine cutters are very popular with our customers and use an arm-activated blade to cut paper, card stock, pictures and more. You can find our Kutrimmer paper cutters here.

Triumph - Triumph (by IDEAL) is considered to be one of the heaviest-duty and best lines of stack paper cutters. These cutters come in manual, semi-auto and fully automatic designs. Triumph stack cutters are designed for high-volume paper cutting. You can find our entire selection of Triumph paper cutters here.

So there you have it. The kings of the German paper cutting industry. You can find our entire selection of paper cutters here. Feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 with any questions.

Do you need a cheap and affordable paper folder that can also multi-fold up to three sheets at a time? If so, the Dahle 10560 paper folding machine may be just what you need. I have used this machine several times and will post my thoughts and feelings on it in this article. Hopefully this will help you determine if this is the right folding machine for you.

To begin with, the Dahle 10560 falls within a very select group of sub $500 paper folding machines. These types of paper folding machines are designed for low-volume use. This doesn’t mean you can only fold a few sheets per day, but it isn’t meant to be used continuously for large jobs.

The time it takes to pull this folding machine out of the box and set it up takes on a few minutes. Luckily very little assembly is required. All you really have to do is set up the stand and attach a couple of components.

The Dahle 10560 uses folding plates to create letter folds, accordion folds, single folds and more. The folds are clearly marked on the two folding plates. Once these plates have been adjusted for the fold, the 10560 can begin folding paper.

The hopper on the Dahle 10560 holds up to 50 sheets of paper. It is designed to be used with either 8 ½” x 11″ letter-size or A4 paper. It is designed to be used with 16-20lb paper, so nothing thicker than copy paper. It will not work with glossy or coated paper as the rubber wheels tend to slip on the slick surface.

This folding machine is extremely compact and very easy to move around. It weighs in at 21 pounds. I picked it up and it didn’t seem much heavier to me than a basic printer. I do, however, recommend moving the folding machine and the stand separately.

The Dahle 10560 is perfect for using on the side of a desk or on a table. It is several times faster than folding paper by hand and is a significant step up from the basic electric letter folding machines out there.  It is  great for folding invoices, letters, bills, pamphlets and more.

My favorite feature of the Dahle 10560 is the multi-sheet folding capability. A bypass slot on the top of the folding machine allows you to manually feed up to three sheets of stapled or unstapled paper for multi-sheet folding. This feature works remarkably well. Just be aware that it will only multi-fold paper as fast as you can feed it into the machine.

Overall I consider this to be a great little folding machine. If you treat it well, and set it up properly, it should easily last you for a long time.

You can find the Dahle 10560 paper folding machine here. You can find our entire selection of friction-feed paper folding machines here.

Do you have a Dahle paper shredder and need replacement bags? No problem. We offer a great selection of Dahle paper shedder bags for pretty much every model out there. So why should you use Dahle paper shredder bags?

I know of people out there who try using any old garbage bag as their shredder bag. While this may somewhat work, there are a few problems with this scenario. To begin with, using a bag that isn’t designed for your shredder will often result in too much slack, too little room and unfortunate messes.

Emptying a paper shredder should be a clean, effortless process. The right shredder bag will ensure fewer bag changes, less mess and potential prolonged the shredder’s life.

Why could this prolong the life of the shredder? Less mess means fewer particles clogging up essential mechanical and electrical components.

You can find our Dahle paper shredder bags here. You can find our entire selection of Dahle paper shredders here. For more information on paper shredder bags and which one you should use, feel free to contact us at 1-800-658-8788.

Are you in need of a guillotine paper trimmer that is not only affordable, but accurate? One model that I would recommend looking at is the Dahle 565 premium guillotine paper trimmer. This trimmer is growing in popularity and may be a good option for you. I have used this trimmer and this is my review.

Dahle’s premium line of guillotine paper trimmers come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 14 to 27-inches long. These trimmers are German engineered and German made. The Dahle 565 is a 15 ½-inch trimmer.

One of the most unique features of the Dahle 565 is the safety system that has been put in place. Unlike Kutrimmer guillotines that use a plexiglass safety shield, the Dahle 565 uses a corkscrew shaped guard that keeps the blade covered in all the right places during the cutting process. It is very interesting to see in action. To me it seems extremely innovative and effective.

The German Solingen steel blade is razor sharp. Not only does it come from the factory sharp, a self-sharpening system helps keep the blade sharpened during each cut. The lade is remarkably easy to pull and cutting through paper is effortless. The Dahle 565 can cut up to 35 sheets of paper in a single pass. A clamping mechanism keeps paper firmly in place.

The base of the cutter is made from metal. This gives the Dahle 565 a heavy-duty feel. The base has a grid printed on it for common cuts and a measuring ruler can be found along the edges of the cutter. An adjustable guide makes it easy to line up paper, photos and other material for continuous cutting.

The Dahle 565 measures in at 18 3/4″ x 14″ and weighs in at 23 pounds shipped. This means the Dahle 565 is extremely easy to pick up and move around. You can use it on just about any desk, table or workstation. This is pretty nice.

The cutter itself has a really nice build quality. Most of the cutter is made from metal. It should easily last for years. While the blade should easily last for a long time, replacement blades are available.

In wasn’t too impressed with old Dahle guillotine trimmers of the past, but this new design seems to really incorporate everything you need in a guillotine trimmer. I would even consider it to be right up there with Kutrimmer guillotines.

You can find the Dahle 565 premium guillotine paper trimmer here. You can find our entire selection of Dahle paper cutters here. You can find our entire selection of guillotine paper trimmers here.

Whether you’re part of the U.S. Military, belong to an Embassy or are deployed overseas, you may have the need of a deployable paper shredder. One model that is both functional and portable is the Dahle 20434DS deployment high security shredder. This my review.

To begin with, Dahle is very popular with the U.S. government, Department of Defense and military for their line of high security NSA/CSS approved shredders. Dahle currently offers about seven different models. One of their most recent additions is the Dahle 20434DS. This is shredder meets NSA/CSS Specification 02-01 standards.

The standard version of the Dahle 20434 is already a hit, so the 20434DS (Deployment Shredder) became a hit right out of the box. Simply put, the 20434DS is a deployable version of the 20434. By deployable, I mean it can be easily packed up and moved around.

The Dahle 20434DS includes a foam padded case that is both airtight and watertight. This case is designed to hold up and handle wear and tear. It can be flown on a plane, loaded on an aircraft carrier or sent along in a submarine. Not only does it have a padded case, it also features rolling casters and a pull strap for easy transportation.

This deployment shredder is rated at a Level 6 shredder, which is the highest security shred cut available. The size of the cross cut particle is 1 x 4.7mm. If you are near a ruler, take a look at how small that is. To the naked eye it looks like tiny white particles. One single 8 ½ x 11-inch sheet of paper gets turned into 15,500 tiny particles. That is amazing and extremely secure.

The shredder has been compacted for deployment purposes. It features a 9 ½-inch feed opening, capable of accepting an 8 ½ x 11-inch sheet of paper. It can shred up to 8 sheets.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that because this is a deployable shredder that it is a toy. It still weighs 88 pounds and is still just as durable and solid as standard Dahle high security shredders.

I always like to mention that high security paper shredders need to be oiled more frequently than normal shredders due to the intricate nature of the cutting head. It is recommended that you oil the 20434DS after every 15 minutes of use.

Overall I really like this shredder. It is compact, portable and perfect for military, federal, state or local governments as well as Department of Defense contractors engaged in projects where National Security is an issue.

You can find the Dahle 20434DS deployment high security shredder here. You can find our entire selection of high security paper shredders here.

Destroying sensitive, top secret and confidential information requires a special type of shredder, usually one with a security level 6. So which shredder should you use? One model you may want to consider is the Dahle 20394 high security paper shredder. This is my review.

Many government entities, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and military branches require the use of not only a Level 6 shredder, but also need one that is NSA/CSS approved. This includes the destruction of Classified up to Top Secret COMSEC documents.  Dahle has been fitting this bill for years now. One of their most popular (and largest) lines is the Dahle 20394.

The Dahle 20394 is not only designed for Level 6 high security shredding, but is also NSA/CSS approved (NSA/CSS Specification 02-01). The particle cut shred size of this shredder is 1 x 4.7mm. That is small. This cut size is so small, in fact, that it will turn a single sheet of paper into over 15,500 tiny particles. Try piecing that back together. You can safely call the Dahle 20394 a top-secret paper shredder.

One thing you may notice with a Level 6 shredder, that you don’t see with other paper shredders, is that they don’t shred as many sheets of paper at a time. This is the case with the Dahle 20394. While the shredder itself is about as heavy-duty as they come, it can only shred up to 18 sheets of standard 20# paper at a time.

Because the shredder has to make so many cuts to get the small particle size, it really taxes the motor, thus scaling back the amount of sheets it can shred. This is a common issue with high security shredders. Eighteen sheets is actually pretty decent for a Level 6 shredder. The Dahle 20394 is able to do this with its 2.5 HP motor.

I personally hate using shredders that only have an 8 to 9-inch opening. It makes it hard to feed paper. The mouth on the Dahle 20394 is 16-inches wide, allowing it to shred most paper sizes.

The bin on this thing can hold up to 50 gallons of paper. Because the particles of paper are so small, you rarely have to empty this thing. Fifty gallons of paper is a lot of paper. This makes the Dahle 20394 perfect for a department or office.

Remember that high security paper shredders require more frequent oiling due to the amount of moving parts. It is recommended to oil the Dahle 20394 after every 15 minutes of use. An automatic 1.5-liter oiling kit is available for this shredder (called a performance kit).

Overall I am HIGHLY impressed with the Dahle 20394 high security shredder. The build quality is excellent, reliability is considered to be some of the best out there and it is very easy to use.

You can find the Dahle 20394 high security paper shredder here. You can find our entire selection of high security paper shredders here. Ask us about our low price guarantee. Feel free to call us at 1-800-658-8788 to speak with one of our high-security paper shredder specialists.