Hi Mark, For years, my mantra was: "If it ain't 206, check it." Then, I came across some Scotch 206 (1.5Mil) with SSS and my confidence was shaken. However, Scotch 206 & 207 still remain to be the most stable of the back-coated PET tapes. At least, here on the left coast. Shai Drori's experience in Israel has been much different, with 206 having nothing but problems (and with a very similar climate!). So, my recommendation is: Check it! Carefully un-spool the reel and look for signs of SSS. If none are found, play a segment or two for about 30 seconds and if the transport looks clean, you should be good to go. I know this sounds labor intensive (and it is) but: No pain, no gain. From the "Bake it as a last resort" guy, Corey Corey Bailey Audio Engineering www.baileyzone.net On 10/23/2017 8:22 AM, Hood, Mark wrote: > I am about to digitize a daily large batch of quarter-inch tapes, most of which I believe to be 3M 206. There were professionally recorded and have been stored in a variety of conditions since the mid-70s, but in a pretty stable environment for the last 20 years. > > I'd like to solicit everyone's current experience and protocols when dealing with Scotch 206 - specifically, are you baking prior to spooling, or is 206 currently behaving well enough that a blanket baking policy is not required? > > And if you are baking 206 at any point in the process, what baking times and temperatures are you all using for quarter-inch stock? > > Many thanks, > > Mark > > Mark Hood > Associate Professor of Music > Department of Audio Engineering and Sound Production > IU Jacobs School of Music