----- Original Message -----
From: "Christie Peterson" <cpeterso@xxxxxxxxx>
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?
What MIGHT work...and this is an "educated guess" based on having seen
other items repaired with various forms of tape after a number of years...
is the Scotch "Invisible" tape. This looks to be translucent white on
the roll, but does become "invisible" when applied to an object; as
well, it doesn't seem to behave like ordinary "Scotch tape," which
over a few years yellows, warps, and falls off of whatever it was
applied to, leaving the adhesive behind (which has softened to the
point it is all over the area repaired!).
Steven C. Barr