Maxell, the technology leader in data storage and backup tape, today announces that it has begun shipping its new LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridge, which meets companies’ growing demand for storing and backing-up digital information by offering double the capacity available in LTO Ultrium 3. The Maxell LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridge incorporates new technology including data encryption and other security features for meeting government policies and regulations.

Maxell recently completed the world’s first LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridge compliance verification process including an exhaustive series of tests to confirm interchange compatibility with other drives and media. Upon completion of the tests, users of Maxell LTO Ultrium products can be 100% confident of compatibility and interchangeability between Maxell LTO Ultrium media and all brands of Ultrium drives and media. Maxell has a successful track record with LTO compliance testing and was first to pass the Ultrium 1, Ultrium 2 and Ultrium 3 data cartridge compliance verification process, as well.

With a compressed transfer rate of up to 240MB/sec and storage capacity of up to 1.6TB, Maxell’s Ultrium 4 data cartridge is the fourth generation in the LTO Ultrium technology roadmap which extends to capacities of up to 3.2TB. The new technology provides two times the capacity of LTO 3 data cartridge and a transfer rate that is 50 percent faster. The LTO Ultrium 4 technology is backward compatible with earlier generations, allowing LTO Ultrium 4 end-users continued access to Ultrium 2 & 3 tape archives to extend their investments made in previous versions. The Maxell LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridge may be used in all 4 Ultrium drives.

New to Ultrium tape technology, the LTO Ultrium 4 format features encryption capabilities designed to enable hardware-based writing of encrypted data to the LTO Ultrium data cartridge, helping to protect the storage and transport of sensitive information. The LTO Ultrium 4 format also features the WORM (Write Once, Read Many) functionality that debuted in LTO Ultrium 3 products, allowing secure backup and storage of critical data for legal support and regulatory compliance such as Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA and SEC 17a-4.

Maxell is proud to continue exemplary support for our customers by providing the latest LTO 4 data storage tape to fulfill changing data storage needs. End-users should know they can rely on Maxell to continue focusing on quality, innovation and manufacturing excellence.

Maxell is widely recognized as a major provider within the data storage industry. With NeoSMART technology and ongoing joint development efforts with the world’s foremost tape drive developers, Maxell has remained at the forefront of the data recording business, with an emphasis on quality, reliability and innovation. Maxell was the first in the world to develop and market Super DLTtape® I, LTO Ultrium 1, LTO Ultrium 2, Super DLTtape® II, LTO Ultrium 3, DLTtape® S4 and now LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridges. Maxell is now aiming at development of a 10 Terabyte class tape through utilization of the company’s proprietary NanoCAP ultra fine spherical magnetic particle technology

Main features of Maxell LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridges
The implementation of Maxell NeoSMART (Super Maximum-capacity Advanced Reliability Tape) technologies, developed through years of refinement and experience in data storage, has been instrumental in enabling the development and release of LTO Ultrium 4 data cartridges. Key features of Maxell LTO 4 data cartridge include:

- New ultra-fine ceramic-armored metal particles with high coercivity and superior remanence improving long-term magnetic stability for archival applications. Maxell’s ceramic armor coats the metal particle with a thin ceramic layer to protect from corrosion and provide advanced archival storage life, superior durability and very low error rate levels.

- Extremely accurate servo writing technologies ensure stable servo characteristics and superior tracking reliability to prevent any data loss.

- Improved cartridge durability with Maxell’s high precision molding and spot welding around cartridge openings, for outstanding shock resistance during shipping and day-to-day handling.

- Stringent testing ensures that Maxell produces a superior tape with an exceptional reliability of over one million passes, despite the rapid tape transport speeds utilized by Ultrium 4 drives and the additional stress placed on the tape.

- Maxell’s Teal colored LTO-4 cartridge color provides greater ease of use through ready visual identification. This allows effortless differentiation from LTO-3 cartridges (gray-blue), LTO-2 cartridges (purple), LTO-1 cartridges (black) and LTO universal cleaning cartridges (gray).

- Built-in cartridge memory chipstores historical usage records and enables high speed data searches by the drive. This feature is unique to the LTO Ultrium format.

About Maxell NeoSMART technology
Maxell's NeoSMART (Super Maximum-capacity Advanced Reliability Tape) technology integrates seven leading-edge technologies essential to the future expansion from Gigabyte to Terabyte storage capacities. NeoSMART technologies consist of: ultra thin coating, advanced dispersion, fine metal particles, high performance cartridges, high precision servo tracking, superior calendering and highly precise slitting. Each of these technologies has been developed and perfected by Maxell through years of research and hands-on experience developing and manufacturing advanced tape media.


About Maxell NanoCAP particles
Maxell’s NanoCAP (Nano Composite Advanced Particles) technology provides extraordinary magnetic performance when compared with conventional needle-shaped particles, with superior coercivity and extremely high saturation magnetization. The spherical shape of NanoCAP particles allows the closest possible packing structure and increases the number of particles per unit volume. This allows for extremely thin magnetic layer coatings that result in even further improvement in output levels. In the future Maxell intends to fully leverage NanoCAP technology in the creation of the world’s first 10 Terabyte class data cartridge.

About Maxell
A technology and brand leader in premium data storage media products since 1960, Maxell Corporation of America is a full-line manufacturer of digital and analog media products for the data storage, broadcast and consumer markets. Maxell's data storage group provides one of the industry's broadest lines of premium digital recording media, including LTO Ultrium, DLTtape, Super DLTtape, DLT S tape, DDS / DAT and 3590E data cartridges, and is a full line supplier of recordable DVD and CD media.

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