Date:         Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:19:12 -1000
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         Mal Rockwell <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Adhesive tape survey
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Right. As a recordist for many years I never used hold down tape to
secure the ends and only very early on, leader tape, thus avoiding
oozing gunk down the road. I always store my tapes tail out to avoid
print through and regularly rewind the tapes every 5 years or so. I also
leave about 50 feet of blank tape before the test tones at the head of
each reel just because it seemed the prudent thing to do.
Can't say the same for all my home tapes, especially when recording on
the fly, but for the most part I still have a playable and archivable
collection of from 1/4" to 2" tape spanning from 1955 to 1990.
Internal splices to a master tape were always avoided unless absolutely
necessary. That's what first generation copies were for. Any breaks or
undone splices found during rewinding were left *as is* and noted on the
box so repairs could be made at the time if the tape was ever played or
rerecorded later.
Of course it took me years to figure all this out!
Mal Rockwell

*******

Richard Warren wrote:

> Hello Christie Peterson,
>
> The best general rule I know of is NOT to use ANY sort of adhesive 
> material on reel-to-reel tape, neither splicing tape (unless 
> absolutely necessary for repair) nor hold-down tape. Eventually the 
> adhesive will bleed through the tape or ooze out at the edges and 
> cause trouble. And those plastic hold-down tabs, which are not 
> adhesive, are at least as bad as adhesive, since they damage many 
> layers of tape. I've never noticed any problem, in about 40 years of 
> experience, from using nothing.
>
> Sincerely, Richard Warren
>
> At 09:05 AM 1/23/2007, you wrote:
>
>> Hello, ARSC-listers:
>>
>> I'm looking into what kind of adhesive tape to use to affix the end 
>> of 1/4" open-reel audio tape to the reel for long-term storage.  As 
>> an archivist, I am perhaps obsessively afraid of adhesive tape (it 
>> still makes me cringe a little inside every time I have to use 
>> splicing tape), since I have seen first-hand what it does after 20, 
>> 40, 60, etc. years.
>> Still, I am at least equally afraid of damage to improperly stored 
>> audio tapes, so I'm looking for advice.
>>
>> From those of you who have been in the "business" for multiple 
>> decades, and/or who have worked extensively with older tapes, what 
>> type of adhesive tape do you advise (and not advise) using?  Is there 
>> anything out there that doesn't seep excessively, or do other 
>> *terribly* ugly things as it ages?  What do you use and why?
>>
>> As a corollary, the original tapes I'm working with have been stored 
>> with their ends un-secured for 30-40 years, and most don't seem to 
>> have suffered any ill effects from this.   Any opinions/horror 
>> stories on the importance of taping the end down?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> Christie Peterson
>> Project Archivist, Muskie Archives & Special Collections
>> Bates College
>> 70 Campus Avenue
>> Lewiston, ME 04240-6018
>> (t) 207-753-6918
>> (f) 207-755-5911
>
>