Date: March 2003

Imation Shows Full Portfolio Of Advanced Storage Media and Customer Services At CeBIT 2003

Between Match 12th to 19th Imation exhibits its full range of advanced storage solutions for both the consumer and the professional environment on its CeBIT 2003 stand in Hall 21, booth B 29.

Imation and Jordan renew sponsorship agreement

Jordan Grand Prix and Imation have announced a renewal of their sponsorship agreement. The agreement takes the two companies into the fifth consecutive year of their association.

In addition to sponsorship investment, Imation will continue to supply a range of data storage media to Jordan for use across a wide range of IT applications including the storage of telemetry data generated at races and tests, plus data generated by the team's windtunnel and design office. In 2003 Imation will be known as an 'Official Technology Partner' to Jordan Ford.

"We look back on four exciting years of building our relationship with Jordan Grand Prix. Since 1999 we have been working closely with Jordan to capitalise on our unique relationship. We have been able to take advantage of the many opportunities that our relationship offers to us, both for marketing and communication purposes. Jordan has allowed us to demonstrate the capability of our technologies to viewers of Formula One racing", Brian J. Plummer, Executive Director Imation Europe commented. "The partnership, initially geared towards technical co-operation, provides an outstanding forum for showcasing our technological competence as a world leader in IT storage applications."

Imation Launches New High-Speed 52x CD-R Media

With the new generation of high-speed CD-R/CD-ROM drives offering rotational speeds and data transfer rates of 50x and above, consumer is looking for CD-Recordable media, matching the offered drive capabilities. Imation now serves the market with its new 52x-CD-R media, which is able to work in drives supporting a maximum data transfer rate of up to 7,8 Mb/s. Even standard PC-systems on the desk of a private user today by far exceed the performance of computers which represented high end-systems for professional applications only a few years ago. Video and audio applications and 3D-games and animations have driven the development of quick processors and firmware components such as 3D accelerators, high-speed interfaces and transmission cables. The latest generation of CD-R drives and media promises to provide data transfer rates which are not far below the one current hard disk drives offer. This allows a user to write 700 MB of data - equivalent to a maximum recording time of 80 minutes of audio files - to a CD-R within less than two minutes. The pure performance data and technology specifications in fact should not lead consumers to the assumption that CD-burning could be done within seconds in any case.

Rewritable CD's Transfer Speed Catches Up With CD-Recordable

A quicker access to stored data and drastically reduced write-cycle times - these are the main benefits of the new Imation 24x US CD-RW. US stands for Ultra Speed, offering data transfer rates of up to 3,6 MB/sec. The CD-R also offers a noise-free playback and a maximum capacity of 650 MB. Imation 24x Ultra-Speed CD-RW media are compatible for recording with the latest CD-RW drives. The consumer can easily identify those drives by watching out for the Ultra-Speed Logo.

Actual market figures show that CD-RW hasn't reached the popularity of the CD-R in the last few years. One can think of many reasons why this is the case, but it seams that a lower level of operating comfort accompanied by time consuming storage operations certainly were among those. The demand for data storage is no longer focused only on capacity - it is also on speed. Today's customers want and demand the ability to save information at the highest speed possible. Is there also a demand for rewritability, because the user does not want to store, secure or archive data for an unlimited period of time, CD-RW media offers significant advantages vs. write once media such as CD-R.

Imation launches FlashGO! 2.0 Universal USB Flash Memory Card Reader

FlashGO! 2.0, is a new USB multi-slot flash memory card reader/writer that supports six flash memory card formats, including Compact Flash (Type I and II), Smart Media, Multimedia Card, Secure Digital and Memory Stick, as well as IBM's Microdrive. The launch of FlashGO! finishes the memory card format concerns of consumers buying a new digital camera, PDA or MP3 player etc., or anyone who already has multiple devices with different memory card formats. The earlier launched very successful FlashGO! single slot card reader has been specifically designed to support storage needs of mobile computer users, utilizing adapters for all major card formats. The new device combines compact size and desktop design with multi-slot-functionality to match needs of multi-device owners.

FlashGO! 2.0 is a perfect solution for rapid down- and upload of data stored on one of the mentioned memory card formats and for quick and comfortable transfer to a PC or notebook computer. The USB-port provides easy plug and play convenience for most of the current operating systems, including Windows 98, 98SE, ME 2000, Macintosh 8.6, 9.x and 10.x. A CD holding drivers for all systems requiring a driver installation before usage is part of the pack. With dimension of just 6,3 cm width, 9,6 cm length and 1,3 cm heights FlashGO! 2.0 matches both demands of desktop and mobile PC users. The USB-interface is compatible with both version 1.1 and 2.0. An external power supply is not required, FlashG0! uses USB bus power supply. The device is available throughout Europe from March 2002 onwards.

Digital Versatile Disk - A Technology Overview

What Consumers always wanted to know about DVD

Looking at the current DVD-market, one can identify five different formats, or even six, if pre-recorded DVD-ROM is included, on which the user can not record but only replay data. Imation offers all writeable and rewriteable DVD-formats: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM. The variety of formats will certainly confuse the consumer and may lead the potential user to delay a purchase decision for a drive or a burner. Imation now provides a comprehensive overview explaining the historical development of DVD-technologies, the basic technology differences, and their typical applications.

The historical review gives some basic explanations on the development rationales and the initial technology specifications. The technology sections explains the structure and recording principles of the different DVD-formats and also reviews the two industry camps, supporting DVD + and DVD- formats. The application section finally gives some recommendations which benefits come with which DVD-format.

Imation AIT 3 Data Cartridge Provide up to 230 GB Storage Capacity

Data volume is growing exponentially in all areas of the network storage market. Even low-end networks or department-server based storage architectures often require storage capacities of several hundreds of Gigabytes for back-up and archival operations. Imation AIT 3 are (Advanced Intelligent Tape) data cartridges are tailored to serve the entry- to midrange server network space. Compatible with all AIT 3 tape drives and libraries, Imation AIT 3 cartridges provide 100 GB native capacity (up to 230 GB with 2.3:1 compression) and a native sustained data transfer rate of up to 12 MB/sec.

Each cartridge features AIT 3's innovative Memory-in-Cassette (MIC) technology that is built into the spine of the cartridge. The MIC technology stores directory information, file locations, system logs and other user-definable information, which helps increase speed of access to data. Imation AIT 3 tape cartridges also include Advanced Metal Evaporated Media (AME) technology that provides exceptional recording density, and are enclosed in a clamshell cassette that protects the tape from environmental elements. Imation AIT 3 data cartridges will be available in Europe through Imation distribution partners and resellers.

The computer tape: 50 years on

The magnetic effect of digital data storage

In December 1952, International Business Machines Corporation unveiled a completely new generation of office machines - magnetic tape drives. The drives used the first commercially viable computer tapes, developed by 3M, a company that was known throughout the world for producing audio tape. The first reels of computer tape were a few hundred feet long and able to store around one to two megabytes of information with a data transfer rate of around 7.5 kb/s. To compare, the standard diskette, which itself is 20 years old, operates at a speed four times faster than that. Data processing in those days was far from straightforward. The equipment, the software and the media used were not robust by today's standards and therefore had to be stored in air-conditioned computer rooms that were almost completely sealed to minimise the effect of environmental factors such as variations in temperature and air particles.

The first magnetic tapes only had seven to nine data tracks over a width of almost 1 mm. Current magnetic tapes have a track density of up to 488 tracks per inch. The bit density - which is another key measure of a magnetic tape's capacity - has increased to up to 150,000 bits per inch, which is 1,500 times greater than the first computer tapes. These developments are all reflected in the storage capacity. It would take a pile of 1950s spool tapes almost 1000 metres high to store the data contained on a current, single Black Watch Ultrium Cartridge.

Today, magnetic tapes form the core of any storage strategy that is used for professional purposes. Just a few years ago an archive of magnetic tapes containing one to five gigabytes was considered to be a large data stock and up until then people had not even thought of coining a word for a unit of storage capacity larger than 'megabyte.' Terabytes (1000 gigabytes) and petabytes (1 million gigabytes) will soon be the terms used when talking about data archives and magnetic tape manufacturers will have to prepare themselves. Imation recently announced that it is collaborating with the drive manufacturer O-Mass to produce a magnetic tape that will have a capacity of 1 terabyte. But the development of magnetic tapes will not stop here. It will be a long time before magnetic storage reaches the boundaries imposed on it by nature. Only then shall we have to prepare ourselves for a new chapter in storage history - one that will perhaps be determined by holography.

More than a terabyte of storage space on a single magnetic tape cartridge

In August 2002, Imation and O-Mass, a subsidiary of Tandberg Data, announced an agreement to co-operate in developing the world's fastest and highest capacity tape drive. Under the terms of the agreement, Imation, who acquired a 12% stake in O-Mass for around $5M, will concentrate its efforts on the storage tape and cartridge technology, while O-Mass is to develop the corresponding tape drive. The project aims at developing, producing and commercialising a tape drive and cartridge with a native capacity of 1.2 terabytes - the equivalent to around ten times the capacity of existing high-end magnetic tapes, or 150 standard CDs.

The major application areas of the new storage tape technology will be the storage and archiving of business mass data, research data, meteorological information, satellite pictures, astronomy information or geophysical data, for example from natural gas and mineral oil exploration activities. In addition, many new fields are being added to this range, for example the recording of professional audio and video information for large TV stations or digital cinemas. Market launch of the products is scheduled for 2004.

Management and Identification of Storage Media

Imation services for magnetic and optical identification procedure facilitates data processing administration

It is widely recognised that ever-increasing archive stock is an ongoing challenge for data centre managers, IT managers and network administrators. Depending on the size of the network or data centre, computer operations managers may have to deal with anything from several dozen to several thousand magnetic tapes in various formats.

It can take a considerable amount of expensive time to search through badly labelled cartridges for the data required. Magnetised tape cartridges look much the same from the outside and users therefore need a reliable identification system that enables them to quickly find whichever magnetic tape they happen to be looking for. Imation offers customers a special service, providing a magnetic and optical procedure that is used to reliably identify cartridges. This service of external labelling using a sticky label and magnetic tape labelling using what is known as a magnetic label (initialisation).

Imation customers simply have to specify the type of labelling and initialisation they want when they order their magnetic tapes. When Imation then delivers the cartridges, everything has been done for them and the cartridges are ready to run. Not only can tapes be ordered by phone or post, Imation also offers a special online service - the Labelling and Initialisation Sales Assistant (LiSA). For commercial and public service IT managers LiSA facilitates the placement as well the tracking of their orders and it saves users between four and seven minutes for each data carrier (up to two minutes for labelling and around two minutes for initialisation, for DLT tapes users can save up to five minutes). If your stocks contain several thousand data carriers, it goes without saying that Imation's service affords considerable time and cost advantages.

Imation Technical Services protect security of investment in storage systems

Modern storage systems are an essential requirement in achieving business objectives, implementing research programs and documenting and recording technical and scientific projects, particularly for the commercial, industrial and institutional user. The choice of a suitable storage system rests not only on the financial means available, but on other significant factors as well, including for example, compatibility with existing data stocks and system components, capacity, ease of access, as well as, of course, security of investment. Increasing storage requirements mean data centre managers and IT managers find themselves confronted with demands to improve the performance of storage systems purely from an economic aspect. In addition to this, requirements for the availability of business-critical data, which are subjected to a near 24/7 availability routine, are strict.

A major factor in ensuring security of investment, is the provision of support for applications by qualified specialists - i.e. the kind of support Imation and its DS&IM European Technical Service Group (DS&IM = Data Storage & Information Management) offers. The DS&IM European Technical Group sees high availability as one of its main objectives. In close co-operation with major hardware manufacturers, such as IBM, STK, Tandberg Data, Seagate etc., it ensures optimised safeguards against downtime, as well as providing the fastest possible identification and remedy of faults.

About Imation
Imation Corp. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of magnetic and optical removable data storage media. With one of the broadest product lines in the industry - spanning from a few megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes of capacity in each piece of media, Imation serves customers in more than 60 countries, in both business and consumer markets. From large data centers to distributed networks, Imation's tape cartridges are used in data processing, security, business continuity, backup and archiving applications. Customer needs for reliability, convenience and portability to store and manage business data, photos, video, images and music on professional and home desktops and increasingly in consumer electronics devices drive demand for Imation's optical and diskette products. With more than 300 technology scientists and over 300 patents in the U.S. alone, Imation continues to pioneer today's proven magnetic and optical media technologies. As of December 2002, Imation employed approximately 2,800 people worldwide. Revenues from outside the U.S. contribute approximately 49 percent of total sales. Imation Corp. is located in Oakdale, Minnesota, USA, the European Headquarters is based in Schiphol, near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.