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Magnetic tapes are used for large computers like mainframe computers where large volume of data is stored for a longer time. In PC also you can use tapes in the form of cassettes. The cost of storing data in tapes is inexpensive. Tapes consist of magnetic materials that store data permanently. It can be 12.5 mm to 25 mm wide plastic film-type and 500 meter to 1200 meter long which is coated with magnetic material. The deck is connected to the central processor and information is fed into or read from the tape through the processor. It similar to cassette tape recorder.
Advantages of Magnetic Tape:
•Compact: A 10-inch diameter reel of tape is 2400 feet long and is able to hold 800, 1600 or 6250 characters in each inch of its length. The maximum capacity of such tape is 180 million characters. Thus data are stored much more compactly on tape.
•Economical: The cost of storing characters is very less as compared to other storage devices.
•Fast: Copying of data is easier and fast.
•Long term Storage and Re-usability: Magnetic tapes can be used for long term storage and a tape can be used repeatedly with out loss of data.
