Nothing lasts forever - especially audio reels
May 3, 2016 at 01:43PM Today we've seen probably the worst case of tape degradation to-date.
Among a series of reel to reel tapes brought in for transfer this tape below has shown the worst case of failure that we've experienced.
7 inch Reel of 1/4 inch
The tape oxide has litterally shredded off the polyester tape backing as it's being played
Tape shreds while being played
Surprisingly it's not the oldest tape in the batch either, being a backcoated tape. probably manufactured between the mid to late 90s going on the programme content.
The tape had needed baking before it would play properly anyway, which was the first sign that this tape had problems.
Fortunately the content was located at the start of the tape so we recovered it all before the tape starting falling apart.
Tape Close Up
Destroyed 1/4inch reel to reel tape
So here's the warning - just because the audio reel isnt that old and looks ok, doesnt mean that it will play and it's without problems.
Unfortunately at the moment we're seeing an increased number of reel to reel tapes that are requiring extra work to get them transferred and it's likely that this issue will continue to get worse.
If you are considering getting some archived material digitised our recommendation would be to do it sooner rather than later. Contact us on 08 9375 3902 or 1 300 4 PROCOPY for further details.