IBM 3480 family
magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM
The 3480 tape format is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM. The tape is one-half inch (13 mm) wide and is packaged in a 4 in × 5 in × 1 in (102 mm × 127 mm × 25 mm) cartridge. The cartridge contains a single reel; the takeup reel is inside the tape drive.
Because of their speed, reliability, durability and low media cost, these tapes and tape drives are still in high demand. A hallmark of the genre is transferability. Tapes recorded with one tape drive are generally readable on another drive, even if the tape drives were built by different manufacturers.
Tape drives conforming with the IBM 3480 product family specification were manufactured by a variety of vendors from 1984 to 2004. Core manufacturers included IBM, Fujitsu, M4 Data, Overland Data, StorageTek and Victor Data Systems (VDS). Various models of these tape drives were also marketed under other brands, including DEC, MP Tapes, Philips, Plasmon, Qualstar, Tandem, and Xcerta.
IBM designated all versions of 3480 and 3490E tape drives as members of the 3480 Product Family.
Interfaces
Tape drives built for the 3480 formats were initially designed for IBM System/370 computers.
“IBM 3480 family” enters the record as magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what family, magnetic and tape can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“IBM 3480 family” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, family, magnetic and tape provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q11223798. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1984 and 2004.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
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Three-step research path
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- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “IBM 3480 family” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.