Please pay particular attention to the degradation of the rubber on the pinch roller, which grips and pulls the tape during transport. This rubber should be replaced at regular intervals. If fire extinguisher equipment is installed in the tape storage area, please make sure the extinguishing agent is gaseous. Liquid or powder extinguishers will harm tape performance. This perspective makes it easy to understand the continuing trend.
Recording formats get smaller and smaller.
Recording densities get higher and higher. Recorded wavelengths get shorter and shorter. Higher performance in smaller formats is a very good thing. But there is one drawback. As recorded wave-lengths go down, the potential signal loss caused by small particles of debris goes up.