IBM 3480 family

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The 3480 tape format is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM. The tape is one-half inch (13 mm) wide and is packaged in a 4 in × 5 in × 1 in (102 mm × 127 mm × 25 mm) cartridge. The cartridge contains a single reel; the takeup reel is inside the tape drive.

Because of their speed, reliability, durability and low media cost, these tapes and tape drives are still in high demand. A hallmark of the genre is transferability. Tapes recorded with one tape drive are generally readable on another drive, even if the tape drives were built by different manufacturers.

Tape drives conforming with the IBM 3480 product family specification were manufactured by a variety of vendors from 1984 to 2004. Core manufacturers included IBM, Fujitsu, M4 Data, Overland Data, StorageTek and Victor Data Systems (VDS). Various models of these tape drives were also marketed under other brands, including DEC, MP Tapes, Philips, Plasmon, Qualstar, Tandem, and Xcerta.

IBM designated all versions of 3480 and 3490E tape drives as members of the 3480 Product Family.