By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 1989, The Syracuse Newspapers
All videotapes are not created equal.
Some are much better than others, as regular readers of this column
probably know already. I have been saying for years that cheap
videotapes—the ones with strange brand names—can only bring you
grief when they jam your recorder or gum up its heads.
But I also believe you don't have to spend a lot of money to get
really good tape.
A case in point is the lineup of Scotch videotape. In my own testing,
as well as tests made by Consumers Union, the least expensive
Scotch tape performed as well as Scotch tapes that cost $3 or
$4 more.
I had begun to wonder, in a half-serious way, whether 3M, the
company that makes Scotch video cassettes, was pulling the old
switcheroo on me. Was 3M using the same formulation on all its
tapes, regardless of price?
The answer, of course, is no. But don't take my word for it. I
went straight to the source—a 3M tape plant in Hutchings, Minn.,
a short drive from the company's headquarters in Minneapolis.
Before I tell you about the plant, I have to put everything up
front: 3M paid for my trip out to the Midwest. That doesn't mean
they are in the business of buying positive reviews; it just means
they have more money than I do. (A lot more, let me tell ya.)
The factory at Hutchings makes all the videotape that 3M sells
in North America. It runs around the clock, with many workers
putting in 12-hour shifts in a four-day week.
Robots that drive around the factory floor deliver the parts that
make up video cassettes. They pull up to various machines—also
robots, but ones that don't move around—and hand the parts over.
They do this just in time for the machines to use the parts.
This manufacturing regimen, in which parts arrive just before
they are needed, is common in Japan and is catching on throughout
North America. It keeps problems (bad parts or missing items)
from being hidden in a long supply line. If something's wrong,
it shows up right away—and the parts suppliers hear about it almost
instantly.
Nothing went wrong the day I was there. The plant was a marvel
of synchronicity; chemicals came in one end and tape came out
the other, constantly. It was also a marvel of cleanliness, with
everyone (including me) wearing little plastic booties and clean-room
suits and hats.
Recording tape looks easy to make. All you do is take a roll of
clear plastic sheeting, paint it with a mixture of glue and magnetic
particles, and then bake it in an oven until the paint dries.
Then you cut the wide plastic roll into thin strips and wind them
onto reels.
Except for minor details, this is exactly the way 3M makes videotape.
I watched all stages of the operation, and I was especially impressed
with the way 3M uses laser beams to check each inch of tape for
flaws. Bad tape is tossed out; it is never sold to other suppliers,
as some tape manufacturers reportedly do.
To make different grades of tape, 3M uses a different "paint"
mixture, with finer or higher-strength magnetic particles in the
more expensive tapes. Some of the premium tapes also have a more
durable coating, so they'll last longer when you do a lot of repeat
taping.
I remain unconvinced that the premium grades—from 3M or from any
other reputable manufacturer—are worth the extra cost. 3M and
the others are continually improving their standard tape, so there
isn't much need to buy the high-priced versions.
But you may find otherwise. Let me know if you can document a
clear improvement from using a premium tape.
technofile:
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