G'day all,  This is a topic which has been debated many times in the
past but I believe it is so important that it deserves to be updated
regularly.  I totally agree with Mark Reinhart's comments and would
like to add that because such small amounts are used, the cost saved
by using general purpose tape is false economy.

I use "Filmoplast" as used by book and document repairers who would
never dream of using inferior materials to save a few cents.  The
extreme thinness of this tape is very important if extensive repairs
are needed.  Many of the old rolls have a significant historical value
and deserve to be maintained in the best way possible.

As mentioned by other members, "Magic Tape" and the like is capable of
making repairs which could last many years if properly done, but the
much longer term result is doubtful and not worth the risk except for
clearly low value rolls.  If not properly done, the result is disas-
trous and may not be reversible.  I have a few rolls where previous
repairs have caused false notes and tracking problems but the tape
cannot be removed without causing further damage.

Dan Wilson mentioned paper brittleness problems in rolls made in the
USA and this is certainly supported by my experience in Australia, but
interestingly, old rolls which were imported soon after manufacture
seem to be better than those imported after spending decades in the US.
It might be concluded that our lower and fairly constant humidity in
most of the country is better for paper preservation.  Paper quality
plays a major role, which can be observed from the performance of
different papers used by various makers over the years.  I have rarely
found this problem with rolls made locally or in the UK but other
factors might also influence this.

One last point: many old rolls develop severe weaving towards the spool
end of the paper which doesn't seem to be correctable.  A possible
cause of this might have been poor angular alignment when the roll
paper was first glued to the spool.  This error would tend to correct
itself towards the outer end of the roll after use, but would retain a
certain amount of weaving of the inner turns, "setting" after a time.

Some more recent rolls where the paper is attached to the spool with a
small piece of tape only in the centre might not exhibit the effect
later.  Only time will tell!  Optimum performance of the player
tracking system plays a big part in the survival of all piano rolls.

Cheers,
Darrell Clarke
Clarke's Corner, Adelaide
South Australia