We evaluate every single tape that is brought into Cups ‘n Strings and then deal with its symptoms appropriately.

The tape needs to be diagnosed and put through a care process. Without this “triage” and correct treatment the tape may not survive the transfer process.

The transfer flow is as follows:

1. TRIAGE
2. PHYSICAL RESTORATION including Mold Removal
3. HEAT TREATMENT – commonly known as TAPE BAKING
4. TRANSFER
5. NEW MEDIA – CDR/DVDR/HARD DRIVE

1. TRIAGE
The tape is physically inspected for oxide peeling or shedding, splices, sticky shed syndrome, gummy splices, and/or loss of lubricant. If any of these conditions are found it will be necessary to proceed with physical restoration.

All tapes are placed on a custom tape cleaning transport to remove any dirt or debris.

2. PHYSICAL RESTORATION consists of the removal of all gummy splices and removal adhesive residue on the tape. We replace these splices with new archival grade splicing tape and both head and tail leaders are placed on the tape.

Mold Removal. The most common problem encountered with poorly stored tapes in conditions of high humidity or moisture is mold. The type of mold that forms on analog tapes is highly toxic and requires a specialized treatment to safely remove the spores and stabilize the tape. In addition, a chemical wipe of the tape is also employed. To remove any residual mold.

If necessary tapes will be heat processed (baked) to remove any sticky shed problems.

3. HEAT TREATMENT (commonly known as Tape Baking)
If the tape show signs of sticky shed syndrome, binder degradation or loss of lubricant, the tape will require to be heat treated (commonly referred to as “baked”). Not all tapes require this treatment.

This process is done in a laboratory grade mechanical convection oven, specifically designed for this purpose. This oven is capable of maintaining steady temperature throughout the 10 hour baking process, to ensure a consistent and safe result.

4. THE TRANSFER
At this point the tapes are restored to their best possible playability and now can be transferred into the digital domain.

5. NEW MEDIA
Once the transfers have been completed, the digital files can be burned onto new media. I.e. CDRs, DVDs or your supplied hard drive.

The Transfer and Restoration Process is not a process which runs parallel with the recorded minutes on the tape.  Just like the tape which you have, took months/weeks/days to record and then gets distilled into a say, one hour tape; our process also takes time to get it back to a workable condition.

TRANSFER TIME ESTIMATES

No two tapes are received in the same condition and every tape has it’s own set of individual requirements and remedies, so it is very difficult to give a exact time estimate. Below we have attempted to give some examples.

TRIAGE
This process could take anywhere between 1 and 3.5 plus hours. E.g. A recording on a 7” reel at 1800 ft. that requiring splices replaced, adhesive residue cleaned and removed and head and tail leaders applied would be approx. 2 hours.

Demolding is a per reel flat rate.

HEAT TREATMENT (commonly known as Tape Baking)
Generally most tapes require 10 hours of baking time, plus cool time before we can begin the actual transfer.

TRANSFER TIME
This is also another variable. E.g. a 7” reel of 1800 ft. recorded on both sides at 7.5 ips would have a total transfer time of 1.5 hours.

Other examples:

FT		IPS		PLAY		PLAY
				TIME		TIME
600	running at	1 7/8	recorded in one direction	1 hr	recorded in both directions	2 hrs
900	running at	1 7/8	recorded in one direction	1 1/2 hr	recorded in both directions	3 hrs
1200	running at	1 7/8	recorded in one direction	2 hrs	recorded in both directions	4 hrs
1800	running at	1 7/8	recorded in one direction	3 hrs	recorded in both directions	5 hrs
600	running at	3 3/4	recorded in one direction	30 min	recorded in both directions	1 hr
900	running at	3 3/4	recorded in one direction	45 min	recorded in both directions	1 1/2 hr
1200	running at	3 3/4	rec. in one direction	1 hrs	recorded in both directions	2 hrs
1800	running at	3 3/4	recorded in one direction	1 1/2 hr	recorded in both directions	3 hrs
600	running at	7 1/2	recorded in one direction	15 min	recorded in both directions	30 min
900	running at	7 1/2	recorded in one direction	23 min	recorded in both directions	45 min
1200	running at	7 1/2	recorded in one direction	30 min	recorded in both directions	1 hr
1800	running at	7 1/2	recorded in one direction	45 min	recorded in both directions	1 1/2 hr

NEW MEDIA
We have standard rates for CDs, DVDs which include time taken to burn and label.

RATES

Based on the above, we are happy to discuss rates directly with you.
Please call us on (310) 453 1615 or email us at studios@cupsnstrings.com