8 Office Supply Questions I Wish Someone Answered for Me When I Started Buying for Our Team

You're not alone if you've Googled any of these

When I took over purchasing for our 60-person office back in 2020, I had a lot of questions. Some of them seemed too basic to ask my boss. Others I didn't even know I should be asking until something went wrong.

This FAQ is the list I wish I'd had. It covers Fellowes gear, everyday office headaches, and a couple of things that surprised me along the way.

1. Why should I choose Fellowes for my office?

Honestly? Because they've been at this a long time, and it shows. I manage orders for shredders, laminators, and binders across three locations, and I've cycled through a few brands. Fellowes is the one I keep coming back to.

The build quality is consistent. Not flashy, not cheap. Their commercial-grade shredders run all day without overheating, which matters when you've got 400 employees feeding them paperwork. Their binders and laminators are straightforward to operate, which means less time training temps and more time actually getting work done.

Plus, their customer support actually picks up the phone. That sounds like a low bar, but after dealing with brands that only offer email ticketing, it's a real time-saver.

2. Where can I find the Fellowes paper shredder manual?

This is probably the most common search that lands people on my desk. The official place is the Fellowes support page. You can search by model number—it's usually printed on a label on the back or bottom of the unit.

But here's what tripped me up my first year: don't assume your model is the only one that uses a specific manual. Fellowes sometimes updates manuals across runs. If the manual you find doesn't exactly match your machine—different button layout, slightly different specs—check the revision date. They're usually on the first or last page.

And if you're digging through a drawer of old papers like I was for a while, the Fellowes manual library has PDFs dating back years.

3. Do I really need a label printer?

Short answer: yes, if you do any kind of mailing or filing.

I assumed we could get by with printing labels on regular paper and cutting them out. That lasted about two months. The time sink was ridiculous, and the results looked… not great.

A dedicated label printer isn't just faster. It handles different label sizes, prints crisp text and barcodes, and saves you from fighting with your main office printer over paper jams. I bought a basic model from our office supply vendor for about $200. Best purchase we made that quarter.

If you're just starting out, look for something compatible with standard address label rolls. You don't need a high-end industrial model unless you're shipping hundreds of packages a day.

4. How do I get a printer back online? (Without losing my mind)

This is the #1 IT support call in most offices, and honestly, it's usually simpler than people think.

Try this sequence first:

1. Check the physical connection. Is the power cable firmly seated? Is the network cable plugged in (if it's a wired printer)?
2. Restart the printer. Not just 'turn it off and on.' Unplug it for 30 seconds. This clears the internal memory.
3. Restart your computer. I know, it's cliché, but a restart resolves about 70% of connectivity issues because it forces a fresh network handshake.
4. Check the print queue on your computer. If a job is stuck with an error, cancel it. Sometimes a single corrupt file holds up everything.

If none of that works, it's probably a driver issue or a network configuration problem. That's when I escalate to IT. But honestly, steps 1-3 have fixed it for me nine times out of ten.

5. Why would I ever need a Pythagorean theorem calculator?

I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd use it again after high school. But it's surprisingly useful in an office context.

When we set up a new breakroom, I needed to figure out if a 75-inch TV would fit on a wall between two support columns. The wall was 8 feet wide, but the distance from the mount point to the corner required an angled wall. Measuring the straight line wasn't enough. I pulled up a free online Pythagorean theorem calculator, punched in the horizontal and vertical distances, and got the diagonal measurement in seconds. The TV fit perfectly.

Same logic applies when laying out cubicles or figuring out cable lengths for under-desk runs. It's a quick sanity check that saves you from ordering something that won't physically fit.

6. What's the real difference between a 'personal' and 'commercial' shredder?

People assume it's just about speed or how many sheets it can take at once. The real difference is duty cycle.

A personal shredder is designed for 10-15 minutes of continuous use, then needs a cooldown. A commercial shredder can run for hours without overheating.

For our main office with 60 people, we bought a Fellowes Powershred 485Ci, which is rated for heavy continuous use. It's been running for two years, no issues. In our smaller branch office with 5-6 people, a basic Fellowes 79Ci has been fine—it handles a few documents a day and never gets pushed hard enough to overheat.

Don't overspend on a commercial unit for a small team, but don't cheap out on a personal model for a busy office. It's a recipe for frustration and downtime.

7. How often should I oil my shredder?

This is the maintenance task everyone forgets. And it's the #1 reason shredders jam or die early.

I learned this the hard way. In my first year, we went through two shredders because I never oiled them. The blades got gummed up with paper dust and toner residue. Eventually, the motor burned out trying to turn the sticky blades.

Fellowes recommends oiling the shredder every time you empty the wastebasket, or at least once a month for light use. Use shredder oil, not WD-40 or cooking oil. Run a bead across the full width of the paper entry, then run the shredder in reverse for about 10 seconds. That's it. It takes 30 seconds and extends the shredder's life by years.

8. Is it worth buying a laminator for the office?

If you're doing more than 10 sheets a week, yes. But be honest about how much you'll actually use it.

We bought a Fellowes Saturn 125 laminator for about $150. We use it for ID badges, signage, and protecting important documents like compliance posters. It paid for itself within six months compared to paying a print shop per sheet.

One tip: don't buy the cheapest laminating pouches you can find. They tend to cloud or delaminate over time. Stick with name-brand pouches, ideally from Fellowes or a trusted office supply house. The difference in clarity and longevity is noticeable.

And if you're only laminating occasionally, a small pouch laminator is fine. You don't need a roll laminator unless you're laminating banners or large-format materials.