The IBM 3590 is a series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The first drive, having the IBM product number 3590, was introduced in 1995 under the nickname Magstar. The 3590 series of tape drives and media are not compatible with the IBM 3592 line of drives that replaced it. They can store up to 60 GB of data (uncompressed). This family superseded the IBM 3480 Family of tape drives popular in 1980s and 1990s.
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Like the 3480 and 3592 formats, this tape format has half inch tape spooled onto 4-by-5-by-1 inch data cartridges containing a single reel. A takeup reel is embedded inside the tape drive. Because of their speed, reliability, durability and low media cost, the 3590 tape drives are still in high demand. A hallmark of the genre is interchangeability: Tapes recorded with one tape drive are generally readable on another drive, even if the tape drives were built by different manufacturers. Magstar tapes and drives exist in 128, 256 and 384-track versions.