Aron Levinson:
Actually my experience has been that you should never run and store the tape in any shuttle mode as the tape is wound much tighter and this increases print through.
This is not correct as it depends on if the tape machine is constant tension or constant torque.
The Studer A812/A820 are constant tension in ALL modes and the actual tension in all modes can be adjusted to any desired value by adjustments to the software controlling the machines in real time.
You are correct if we are speaking about constant torque machines such as the Ampex AG440 series.
The suggestion for storage has been tails out played in real time.
Makes no difference when using good correctly slit tape and a constant tension tape machine.
If the tape has country laning due to bad slitting, American tapes Ampex/Scotch, then the actual tape pack is much worse than using German tape, AGFA/BASF, which do not exhibit country laning using precision slitting machines because of the use of AEG hubs by the Germans on their tape recorders with no top flange and thus using American tapes means instant disaster on such equipped tape machines.
The real time speed does not pack the wind as tightly.
Only holds for contant torque machines.
But even then the actual torque IS adjustable using pre set power resistors setting the actual current through the winding motors and this can be adjusted any way you want it.
So it should be possible to have higher torque during real time speed than fast winding for example.
Problem here is that constant torque machines have the highest tension at the innermost part of the NAB hub while having least tension at the outside diameter.
This is not good as to get sufficient packing tension at the outermost diameter then it becomes dangerously high at the innermost diameter.