On 5/29/15 10:08 PM, Richard L. Hess wrote:
> I just reviewed the wonderful document:
>
> ARSC Guide to Audio Preservation
> http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub164/pub164.pdf
>
> On page 60 (PDF 72) it says, "Only bake tapes with metal flanges, as 
> plastic reels may warp."
>
> It is true, they MAY warp, but in baking tapes in food dehydrators for 
> over a decade, I may have had ONE plastic reel warp.
>
> This is a case of the lesser of many evils.
>
> One should not unspool a tape that needs to be baked as the mag coat 
> may be found adhering to the back coat of the next layer.
100% agree.  I have seen tapes which were unspooled before baking where 
50% or more of the oxide layer was stuck to the back coating, and the 
tape was completely ruined.  So don't do that.
> So I would suggest that the risk of having to cut a warped plastic 
> flange is much lower risk than unspooling the unbaked tape.
I have never seen a plastic reel which was so badly warped by baking 
that I had to cut the reel to remove the tape.  Very occasionally I have 
chosen to replace the reel before returning the tape to storage, but 
usually the reel is completely undamaged.

-- John Chester