On Tue, 8 Oct 2002 16:22:41 -0400, George Sinclair
<George.Sinclair AT NOAA DOT GOV> wrote:

>This may not be the appropriate forum for this, but I can't get a
>conclusive answer from anyone so I thought I'd check here. Is anyone
>using LTO media with non-stick barcodes like the DLT and SDLT
>cartridges? Does anyone know if LTO media is available with the grooves
>and recessed area like the DLT and SDLT media which would allow us to
>use paper barcodes? The problem is that after a tape has been sitting in
>storage for a long time, it might be a real pain in the neck to get the
>goofy label off. I like being able to slide the barcodes off easily as
>with the DLT tapes. It makes life a lot easier.
>
>We received Imation LTO media, and I called them, and they tell me that
>they do not manufacture LTO tapes with grooves like the DLT tapes have.
>One other tape label supplier says their company only makes stick style
>barcode labels for LTO media, but they could not decisively say that
>there does not exist a company that does not manufacture LTO media with
>grooves. The technician who installed our library mentioned something
>about a kit that can attach to the tape that will allow this, but that
>seems unlikely given the fact that this might prevent the tape from
>loading properly and I have been unable to collaborate that. I checked
>with Storagetek, and they don't know anything about that. One person
>thought he'd seen LTO media with non-stick barcodes and had a hard time
>believing that someone doesn't make tapes with grooves.
>
>Would greatly appreciate any information on this.

The physical format of the cartridge is part of the LTO consortium's
standards, and I expect that the sticky labels is part of this. I have seen
several brands of LTO tapes and all of them were designed for sticky
labels. I would be very wary about the add-on kit you have heard about, for
exactly the reason you mentioned.

IMHO, I think that this is poor design. The way that it is done with DLT is
far better, and it is disappointing that the LTO consortium has ignored
many years of experience. If a cartridge becomes damaged it is near
impossible to take the label off for re-use, and buying new labels as
singles is extortionately expensive.

Slightly off-topic, StorageTek now makes recommendations for LTO media
brands - ignore this at your peril since some brands of tape do NOT work
with some brands of LTO drive. The brand you mentioned is not on their
recommended list.

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