Static protection

Static electricty building up in tape drives can cause real problems. Even low levels of static can attract dust and airborn debris to the surface of your tape, where it can wipe out your data. To protect your data, our proprietary backcoating provides a conductive surface that dissipates static and reduces the chance of static related problems.

Improved archival storage

For a computer tape to be truly reliable, it needs to be stable. Each time -- and every time -- you use it, it has to perform. Even if it's been in storage for weeks, months or years.

Unfortunately, as shown in Photo A, the compressive forces in the tape pack can flatten the recording surface of the tape. And, since even small changes in the surface of a tape can result in errors, that can spell trouble for your data. To safeguard your valuable data, Imation's proprietary backcoating minimizes the effect of compression. As you can see in Photo B, the recording surface remains unchanged, even when the tape has been on the shelf for years.

Photo A Without backcoating, the surface of the tape can be flattened by compressive forces Photo B With backcoating, the recording surface is protected against compression

" The incorporation of a rough-textured back coat was found to control the change in the surface topography of the recording surface... which arises as a result of compressive forces."

And Imation's backcoating safeguards your data another way. As you can see in Figure C, tape without backcoating can stick and slip as it passes over the read head. These variations in speed can cause problems ranging from drive retries to data loss. Imation's textured backcoating provides a consistent surface, so the tape moves evenly across the read head, giving you more uniform signal output and greater peace of mind.

This chart shows the effect of 3M backcoating on the passage of tape across a surface. Without backcoating, the tape alternately sticks and slips, creating variations in speed that can endanger your data. With 3M's textured backcoating, the tape moves across the head at a smooth, even speed.

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