1/2" tape shipping; was: tape baking

[Chuck Guzis]

This had nothing to do with tape baking, but it's something nonetheless
that I think is important regarding tape handling.

After a couple of years of struggling with a customer to get them to
package tapes correctly, I've finally succeeded.  Here's what I
recommend for ordinary 10.5" reels of tapes:

Get some double-walled cardboard "book boxes" from your supplier.  These
are 1 cubic foot, 12"x12"x12" and are made for moving books.  Your local
U-Haul store probably stocks these for a reasonable price, as do most
office supply stores.

Using some large-bubble (half-inch or more) 12" wrap, make sure that
there's a layer at the bottom of the box and that all sides are covered.
  You can usually do this with two 40" long strips of wrap, forming a
"U" shape.

Place no more than 11 tapes in a box surrounded by the wrap; fold the
top of the wrap over the stack of reels and add wrap as needed to fill
the box.  Seal the box securely on both top and bottom. Attach any
warning labels as needed.

A box with 11 tapes will weigh about 28 pounds; one with 10 will come in
at 25 lbs.

The thing to note is that shipping tapes in large boxes of 40-50 tapes
is likely to result in damage to reels.  Reels can be repaired, but it's
an avoidable nuisance.

Using the "book box" method, we haven't lost a single tape to damage.
25 lbs. seems to be a weight and size that Fedex and UPS handlers are
comfortable with.

When working with tapes, plastic "milk crates" normally used for office
hanging folders are a perfect size to separate work in batches of 10
reels or so.  One crate = one "book box".

If you require containers for 10.5" tape reels, a plastic film can made
for an 800' reel of 16mm film is perfectly sized.  I get mine from Larry
Urbanski (https://www.urbanskifilm.com/).


For what it's worth,
Chuck