The wear of magnetic recording tape and solubility of the binder

The ability of magnetic recording tape to perform satisfactorily after repeated use is a characteristic of critical importance in computer service. Wear tests of tapes are time consuming and have not always shown good agreement in the rank ordering of tape between different transport mechanisms and different criteria of end of life. The ability to withstand repeated use is governed to a certain extent the composition of the binder and its adhesion to the plastic backing. Since the solubility of the binder in various solvents depends on its composition, experiments were run to see how well solubility could be correlated with wear. This communication is to bring attention to this work which is reported in more detail in other IEEE and non-IEEE reports.