I am not pleased with the idea of requiring a cross cut shredder. In addition to the expense of purchasing one (I have no budget to do so, what with State budget cuts), I want to mention other problems associated with a large cross cut operation: It's a fine machine for in-office use wherein small amounts of shredding are required. In a major operation such as mine, shredding 25-30 tons yearly, cross cuts pose health and dust problems. VT had one over ten years ago and disposed of it, as operators had to wear masks and the dust and debris were unbearable, not to mention the noise level, requiring ear plugs. My EHHS folks were very pleased we swapped out for a strip shredder. While it's product is more easily reconstructed than the output of a cross cut, I have always felt the job is more than adequate. Let's put it this way: if I wanted a SS#, I can think of 1900 ways easier to acquire it than to try to reconstruct the record from a #60 bale containing approximately 5000 individual strip shredded records. I know there are other state records managers who share my view and are satisifed with strip shredding.  Jerry Palmer