Oh, sure, "blame the media".  (old joke :-)

In http://www.thic.org/pdf/Oct00/imation.jgoins.001003.pdf
Imation says that for the Avanced Metal Particle 1 tape formulation used
in 3590 that media life should be expected to be 15 - 30 years, with
5 - 10% magnetization loss after 15 years.

The greater issue is how well the tapes were made in their batch, and
how
they were handled and the atmospheric conditions in which they were
used.
I've seen some new tapes arrive with ripples because of poor winding
during manufacturing.  "Tape is tape", and being open to the air, lots
can happen to them.

   Richard Sims

On Mar 30, 2005, at 9:58 AM, William Rosette wrote:

Anybody out there know how long 3590 K series tapes last ( I assume in
years).  I am trying to figure if our recent batch of tape/drive
errors are
from tape drives and old tapes.  Seem to be older number tapes giving
the
errors,
Would appreciate any knowledge on the subject or direction of where to
find
the knowledge.

Thank You,
Bill Rosette
Data Center/IS/Papa Johns International
WWJD