Imation Launches World's First 'Multi-Terabyte' Magnetic Tape

First and only company licensed to manufacture next-generation Ultrium LTO-5 format with 1.6 terabytes 'native' capacity.

Imation India Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN), demonstrating its continuing global leadership in removable data storage, today announced an industry first - the new generation of multi-terabyte native-capacity tape using advanced metal particulate (MP) media and employing the company’s proprietary TeraAngstrom™ technology. Further underscoring its commitment to metal particulate technology and the LTO, or Linear Tape Open format, Imation is also the first and only company to date to license the next-generation of Ultrium™ LTO-5 tape media.

“Imation is excited to announce this important industry milestone – the achievement of multiple terabytes of native capacity on a single MP tape cartridge,” said Mr. Subodh Kulkarni, vice president of Imation’s Research, Development, and Engineering, and head of the company’s global Commercial Business.

“Metal particulate media is a proven standard in data storage, and with MP-based LTO-5, we will be almost doubling the capacity of the cartridges. Imation is leveraging its long-standing heritage in reliable, secure and durable data storage products and expertise in metal particulate media to ensure that this latest generation of LTO media exceeds standards for data protection and delivers the most data in a single, multi-terabyte data cartridge. We are very pleased to be the first manufacturer licensed for LTO-5,” elucidates Kulkarni.

According to Mr. Sandeep Popli, Head – Sales & Marketing, Imation India Pvt. Ltd., “LTO-5 tape technology shall offer a cost-efficient way for Indian businesses in the enterprise IT space to store ever-expanding data, whether for long-term archival or regular backup of active data, given tape’s energy savings and a cost per gigabyte advantages over other methods.”

Featuring 3.2 TB of compressed storage and data transfer rates of up to 360MB/second, LTO-5 tape cartridges offer significant improvements over prior tape generations. Enhancements in servo technology and improved data compression ensure the same length of tape can store more information, allowing data center managers to keep their existing footprints without adding space to accommodate the growth in primary storage.

A leading manufacturer of LTO generations 1, 2, 3 and 4, Imation uses its state-of-the-art TeraAngstrom™ technology to create magnetic media with a significantly smoother surface and a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), delivering reduced errors and faster transfer rates. Imation’s TeraAngstrom technology is the advanced MP formulation and manufacturing process used to produce ultra-high capacity storage media at Imation’s Oakdale, Minnesota R&D facility, and in its Weatherford, Okla. manufacturing facility, the only facility in the world built specifically for terabyte-class tape coating.

Licensed by the LTO Technology Provider Companies (TPCs) of Hewlett Packard, IBM and Quantum, Imation expects to launch LTO-5 tape cartridges in early 2010, offering significantly faster performance, almost double the capacity of existing LTO-4 cartridges, and improved encryption capabilities for effective backup, restore and archival of critical data.

About Imation
Imation is a leading global developer and marketer of branded offerings that enable people to capture, save and enjoy digital information. Imation’s world-class portfolio of digital storage products, audio and video electronics, and accessories reach customers through a powerful global distribution network. The result is a company with strong commercial and consumer businesses and continued long-term growth and profitability that creates shareholder value. Imation Corp.'s global brand portfolio, in addition to the Imation brand, includes the Memorex brand, one of the most widely recognized names in the consumer electronics industry and the XtremeMac brand. Imation is also the exclusive licensee of the TDK Life on Record brand, one of the world's leading recording media brands. Additional information about Imation is available at http://www. imation.co.in