A:AnswerI would take out the staples beforehand. I can only imagine that there will be faster wear and tear of the blades if you leave the staples in. Not to mention paper jams as well. -cheers
A:AnswerThis unit does have a 1 year manufacturer warranty. I would suggest taking the shredder and your receipt into your local Best Buy store to the Geek Squad desk for a warranty review.
A:AnswerEach piece is just over 3/16 inch wide by 1 3/8 inches long. The cross-cutter is triangular shaped, so the resulting pieces are not perfect rectangles. The length was measured between the points on each end.