RE: [AV Media Matters] Regular winding/rewinding of tape and film.

[cchoksy@doculabs.com]

One of the issues making the lives of records managers miserable is the
believed short retention of tapes versus CDs and microforms.  That retention
is made further suspect by the issue of rewinding.

Electronic media like tape are especially attractive for electronic records
management because records can be scrubbed and truly deleted from them where
they cannot on CDs.  This makes retention of, say loan documents, which get
destroyed when they have been paid up a poor candidate for digital storage.

What is the recommended retention for tape of various formats?

Carol

Carol E.B. Choksy, Ph.D., CRM
Doculabs
1201 West Harrison, Chicago IL 60607
Tel: 312-433-7793
Fax: 312-433-7795
Email: cchoksy@doculabs.com
www.doculabs.com

>-----Original Message-----
>From: rohre@arlut.utexas.edu [mailto:rohre@arlut.utexas.edu]
>Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 1999 12:39 PM
>To: AV-Media-Matters@topica.com
>Subject: RE: [AV Media Matters] Regular winding/rewinding of tape and
>film.
>
>
>Yes indeed,
>Computer reel to reel tapes are the same basic construction as audio,
>instrumentation reel to reel, and any Gamma Ferric Oxide formulation.  8mm
>tapes of earlier types, and a number of other formats are of this type.
>
>Most of the video type tapes were backcoated when VHS tapes did
>well with this
>formulation.  Backcoating is simply a carbon type treatment that aids in
>reducing print thru, lessens tendency of plastic layers to stick
>to the next
>wrap, and was a great advance in tape construction.
>
>Back coating reduces tendency of base film plastics to acquire a static
>charge, and this helps tapes to pack well in high speed winding.
>
>Because film is also a plastics technology, many of the storage
>considerations
>for all tapes and films are similar.  Low humidity, a cool
>environment, and
>careful handling to avoid dust pickup and contaminants are aids
>to long life.
>
>Since CDs and DVDs are also plastic substrates, although thicker
>than tape;
>they too will last longer if not subjected to abuses of high tempeartures,
>dusty environments, etc.  Of some concern to me for archival
>masters is the
>tendency of all plastics exposed to UV in lighting or sunlight to
>eventually
>become embrittled.  Plastics have chemical constituents that out-gas or
>evaporate over time, and I believe the decay mechanism is the
>loss of those
>solvents or compounds, and in some plastics like tape urethane
>binders, the
>uptake of mosisture into the molecule.
>
>Stuart M. Rohre
>ARL:UTX