> I am curious: NOS tapes that I bought in the last year or so came > with the foam blocks, but I don't recall ever encountering either a > foam block or the magic plastic tape "back in the day" on tapes from > the rack that I handled as a backup operator. I presume that if they > came with blocks, they were discarded when the tapes were > unpacked. Is it really necessary to secure the tape end in normal > use, or is it just needed during shipping to keep the tape from > getting loose on the reel during transport?
For my money, there ought to be one always, though careful handling in a controlled environment can probably get away with skipping them. Shipping is where the worst stresses occur, of course, so is the most important. I've received a number of tapes for imaging over the last few years, and I don't think a single one had anything to keep it packed. One such tape had slipped an outer chunk of the pack around the inner rest, producing a hard crease. Needless to say, there was a read error there. De
