02-27-2006
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Join Date: Jun 2005
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I am not that familiar with Ultrium. Some of the newer tape technologies come with a chip on the tape. It does not rewind the tape when you eject, the chip keeps track of how far into the tape you are. That chip may also keep track of dates. How you'd go about reading it, I don't know.
We have taken to always writing on the tape (with a perminant maker, a silver permanant marker on black ones), the date that the tape arrived (for tapes we open later, we write it on the packaging, and when you break the seal, you write the date on the package on the tape, etc.). If you have bar codes, and you get to pick the names, you can do stuff like your first order, all the tape names start with "A"; your second order, they all start with "B". That way, you can know the "age" of a tape by knowing if it is an "A" tape or a "B" tape, etc.
The "milage" is far more important that the date. A tape you use 3 times a day will wear out faster than the tape you use once a month. Age is a factor when it comes to the glue that holds the magnetic matterial on the tape. The more the tape is flexed (used) the faster the glue wears out, but age in and of itself (even if it just sits on a shelf) can cause the glue to give out. All anyone can give you is an estimate.
I would inquire with the media's manufacturer.
