Reel to Reel Audio Tape Boxes

[madmike]

I have a quantity of used 6" tapes and 7" tapes unboxed. Is it possible to buy boxes or zip seal bags for storage ?

 

[DGP]

From a conservation point of view I wouldn't be using plastics - particularly soft plastics. Having lived in the US I know how very easy it is to get this kind of product there - Conservation Resources Audio Tape Boxes – #551MC- 771MC-1111MC - are inexpensive and good quality. You might try archival material suppliers in the UK but expect much higher prices. DGP

 

[paulfromcamden]

From a conservation point of view I wouldn't be using plastics - particularly soft plastics. Having lived in the US I know how very easy it is to get this kind of product there - Conservation Resources Audio Tape Boxes – #551MC- 771MC-1111MC - are inexpensive and good quality. You might try archival material suppliers in the UK but expect much higher prices. DGP

In the UK PEL offer archive quality boxes for tape reel. But as you suggest, they ain't cheap...

Reel to Reel Audio Tape Boxes

Reel to reel boxes for archival storage of audio tapes up to 10.5", including common 7" reel size, and tape widths up to 1/2".

www.preservationequipment.com

 

[madmike]

Yes...I saw those and thought they were expensive. I was thinking about a zip lock sandwhich bag of the right size.

 

[DGP]

They'd keep the rain out and the tape in but they don't even come close to conservation grade. The soft plastics leaches plasticisers over time which may damage the reels or the tape. Only plastics like PET have any use in conservation. You might find 'memorabilia' bags at one of the UK family history suppliers

 

[epo1]

Perhaps wrap them in museum grade paper and then put them in ziploc bags while you find a better solution.

 

[DGP]

Perhaps wrap them in museum grade paper and then put them in ziploc bags while you find a better solution.

Only if the paper was gas tight - which I suspect it is not. The plastic in ziploc bags can/does do dreadful things to photographic materials. Cutting a large piece of archival card into a cruciform shape and scoring/folding it to enclose the tape reels might be a solution but the corners could let in dust.

 

[epo1]

You are worried about release of gases/fumes? I thought the issue was physical contact.

 

[DGP]

Plasticisers come to the surface and do damage through contact but once there they vapourise and can damage anything in an enclosed space - like the inside of a plastic bag - there are lots of scientific papers on the subject in the conservation field.

 

[madmike]

Some of my 10 inch tapes have a plastic bag inside the cardboard box, both provided by the manufacturer. I didnt think there was an issue with a simple plastic bag ?

 

[DGP]

Conservation best practice suggests that tape needs to 'breath' as the binders holding the oxide to the tape backing also outgas. Cardboard boxes without plastics bags are what's used in archives - tapes stored upright in constant temperature and humidity. I would have through the Preservation equipment boxes at £4 each would be ideal.