IBM cites 15-fold improvement in data storage density

BOSTON — Researchers at International Business Machines Corp. say a new method for cramming data onto magnetic tape will increase storage capacity at least 15 times, enough to squeeze the text from 8 million books onto a cartridge half the size of a VHS tape.

Since high-capacity, reliable hard disk drives are ubiquitous today, tape storage may conjure images of space race-era computers with spinning reels. Indeed, IBM sold its first tape storage unit in 1952.

But tape is still a common medium for storing materials that aren’t frequently accessed, including disaster-recovery files and financial records needed for regulatory compliance. IBM’s tape-storage revenue rose 9 percent last year, outpacing the company as a whole.

Scientists at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., planned to announce Tuesday that they have invented a process for stuffing 6.67 billion bits into a square inch of tape and 8 terabytes — roughly 8 trillion bytes — on a single cartridge. They contend that would be 15 to 20 times denser than today’s industry-standard tape products.

IBM worked with Fuji Photo Film Co. to change the material that makes up the tape, and also improved the way data can be read and written.