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

[cchoksy@doculabs.com]

Does this carry over to computer tapes as well?

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: smolians@erols.com [mailto:smolians@erols.com]
>Sent: Monday, June 14, 1999 4:19 PM
>To: AV-Media-Matters@topica.com
>Subject: Re: [AV Media Matters] Regular winding/rewinding of tape and
>film.
>
>
>I serve on the Audio Engineering Preservation Standards
>Committee. (It's not
>called that, but it writes standards on audio preservation
>matters.)  In the
>days when there was a tape subcommittee, it had three members: one from
>(then) Ampex, one from 3M and myself.
>
>As I recall, the 3M people said exercising audio tape was not
>necessary and
>those from Ampex said it was.  I agree with both.  Reel-to-reel tape
>emerging from storage should be wound and rewound  before being
>played back
>at regular speed.  This discharges print-thru caused  by surface magnetic
>accumulation in storage and unbinds any accumulated physical
>layer adhesion
>resulting from uneven tension when wound before being last shelved.  If
>sticky-shed is suspected, however, no other procedure should be
>implemented
>until the tape has been baked.  Otherwise chunks of oxide may adhere to
>adjacent strands as the tape unwinds, a counterproductive procedure.
>
>>From the informal info I was able to gather on audio cassettes, rewinding
>them is not usually necessary.  However, I have found some cases
>where this
>had been helpful.  One danger is that on old cassettes, the
>adhesive on the
>tape holding the tape to the leader or core may have lost adhesive
>properties and pull the tape off the spool.  I just completed a job where
>this happened in five out of nine cases.  The sudden decelertion at the
>reel's end yanked the tape off.  And- oh yes, these very cheap
>cassettes had
>been slit from wider professional (matte back) audio tape rather
>than loaded
>from a stock specifically designed for the slower speed and for use under
>less exacting recording conditions than that for which the professional
>reel-to-reel stock is made.  These were the first cassettes I ever
>encountered which required baking.
>
>It is also possible some adhesive properties may have been lost while the
>tape was being baked.
>
>Steve Smolian
>Smolian Sound Studios
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Anthony.GARDNER@DG10.cec.be <Anthony.GARDNER@DG10.cec.be>
>To: AV-Media-Matters@topica.com <AV-Media-Matters@topica.com>
>Date: Monday, June 14, 1999 10:58 AM
>Subject: [AV Media Matters] Regular winding/rewinding of tape and film.
>
>
>>A frequent advice for film and tape archives is that they should be wound
>>and rewound with 'correct tensions' and in a clean area every few years.
>>This advice is often justified theoretically, but what practical
>experiance
>>and 'scientific' evidence is there that it works.
>>
>>Given (a big if) that the tape or film - when it was stored - was in fact
>>correctly wound:
>>
>>1. What is the advantage of winding and rewinding again a few
>years later?
>>2. What are the disadvantages?
>>3. Does #1 outweigh #2?
>>4. Is there any real concrete evidence for these answers? (references,
>>reports, seminars, symposiums, ...)?
>>5. To what media does this advice apply (film - open reel - cassette)?
>>6. Do video cassettes need the same treatment?
>>7. Who is actually doing it on a planned organised basis and
>what is their
>>experiance?
>>8. What procedure should be adopted, given manpower resources are
>available,
>>and ...
>>9. ... is one wind/rewind on a well maintained machine enough, or should
>>cleaning and evaluation be attempted at the same time?
>>
>>Thanks
>>
>>
>>-----------------------------------------------
>>                                   Tony Gardner
>>
>>                        DG10D3 Audiovisual Unit
>>                                    TRE120 1/63
>>                            European Commission
>>                   Wetstraat 200  1049 Brussels
>>                                        Belgium
>>
>>           +32 2 299 9161   +32 2 299 9218(fax)
>>                             +32 75 828051(gsm)
>>
>>                    anthony.gardner@dg10.cec.be