[Studiotalk] Sticky Shed

[Stephen Lewis]

Good morning Christopher and all!

Sticky shed syndrome is the bane of all reel masters stored in less than favorable conditions. We’ve struggled with it for years but were lucky enough to have acquired a solution some years ago. For a time I too looked into the adapted food dehydrator solution but thankfully we acquired an actual lab-grade Fisher Scientific incubator oven instead.

We were also lucky to have agency conservators among our coworkers who have either performed this process themselves or written a study on its use:


  *   Tape Baking by Sarah Norris, April 11, 2007. Written in Contribution to Stanford University’s Audio Preservation Manual, Introduction to Audio Preservation - Sarah Cunningham, Instructor
http://www.sarahnorris.net/Papers%20&%20Research/Tape%20Baking.pdf

Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................3
Background ..........................................................................................4
Tape Degradation...................................................................................6
Sticky Shed Syndrome, Soft Binder Syndrome, and Loss of Lubrication..................7
Susceptible Tapes ...................................................................................8
Appropriate Conditions for Baking .............................................................10
Baking Methods ....................................................................................12
Best Practice and Acceptable Practice ..........................................................15
Pros and Cons of Baking ..........................................................................17
Alternative Treatments ............................................................................18
Conclusion..........................................................................................20
Works Cited .........................................................................................21

After requesting the reel masters from our less than perfect warehouse storage facility, we reacclimate our reel masters to a better climate controlled environment (a storage closet in our studio area) for at least a week to a month. We also keep an eye out for acetate tapes which should NEVER be baked in the incubator oven:

Step One: Weed out acetate from polyester tape - There are three types of compositions for audiotape. The majority of tapes in TBP holdings should be polyester. Acetate was mainly used until the 1960s. PVC was also used in the manufacture of audiotape, but is primarily found in European tapes (i.e. BASF). Acetate doesn’t suffer from the same degradation as polyester tape. Acetate should NEVER be placed in an oven. Acetate might be found in older collections (i.e. The Philadelphia collection of tapes acquired by the TBP).  Acetate is translucent while polyester and PVC are opaque. Polyester may be placed in an oven to cure stickiness.

We bake all polyester tapes … at or below 140˚ Fahrenheit for 2 to 3 sessions of 12 hours each; so typically for 36 hours over 3 days, then allowing 24 hours for the tapes to cool, then attempting digitization as soon as possible - no more than 4 weeks after the bake, as the tapes will begin to revert back to their previous state.

I can provide more information as desired. There are others in the NLS network who have used the adapted food dehydrator method specifically, and I hope they will speak up and give helpful hints for that methodology.

Here is a link to a blog post about using tape-baking to counter sticky shed which cites an article by Sarah in the ARSC Journal (Association for Recorded Sound Collections):


  *   Sticky Shed Syndrome<https://rascherarchive.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/sticky-shed-syndrome/>, Posted on 9 December 2010<https://rascherarchive.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/sticky-shed-syndrome/>
https://rascherarchive.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/sticky-shed-syndrome/

- SMiles Lewis
Volunteer Recording Studio<https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/vrs.html>
Texas State Library & Archives Commission
Talking Book Program
Audio Production Administrator / Studio Director
(512) 463-5546 voicemail
(512) 936-0685 fax
www.TexasTalkingBooks.org<http://www.texastalkingbooks.org/>
www.Tsl.Texas.gov/tbp/<http://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/>

From: studiotalk <studiotalk-bounces at islemail.org> On Behalf Of Duran, Christopher at CSL
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 4:07 PM
To: TBBS Recording Studio Info <studiotalk at islemail.org>
Subject: [Studiotalk] Sticky Shed

Hello everyone,
So my ongoing battle with A/D transfer continues.
I have discovered stick shed on some of our analog masters and I have a food dehydrator but have never baked anything, let alone tape.
Has anyone had luck with this process and how difficult is this?

Thanks All!


Christopher Duran
Audio/Visual Assistant
California State Library
(916) 657-3894
Christopher.Duran at library.ca.gov<mailto:Christopher.Duran at library.ca.gov>
[CSL_logo_color]

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