The BOT marker needs to be within a certain distance of the start of the tape, but the distance is measured in feet. Basically, you need to have enough leader to wrap around the takeup reel, load the vacuum columns (if required), then move the tape forward until it is found. It is best to have some extra at the beginning in case the leader is damaged and has to be cut off... Which edge and side of the tape is VERY important. That is what makes the BOT different from the EOT (different edges, same side IIRC), and the length is about 1 inch (3 cm) I don't think the length is real critical. I would suggest making it about the same as another tape. If you need more details, I have a junk tape I could unwind to measure for you... clint On Wed, 9 May 2001, [ISO-8859-1] Hans Hübner wrote: