Fujifilm's epic 40TB tape cartridge is here - despite what Elon Musk says, the future of offline data storage looks very bright
Fujifilm’s 40TB LTO-10 tape reinforces offline storage relevance as enterprises balance ransomware risk, regulatory demands, and growing AI driven archival volumes.
- Fujifilm’s 40TB tape expands archival capacity without forcing enterprises to redesign infrastructure
- Offline storage remains relevant as ransomware pressure reshapes enterprise data protection strategies
- Tape continues gaining ground where long-term retention costs dominate technical decisions
After the initial announcement of a new generation of LTO Ultrium cartridges offering 40TB of native capacity, Fujifilm has now launched this magnetic tape.
The Fujifilm 40TB LTO Ultrium 10 data cartridge targets enterprises facing rising ransomware incidents and increasing regulatory pressure.
It is also designed for organizations managing growing volumes of archival data produced by analytics and machine learning workloads.
Fujifilm 40TB LTO-10 cartridge
The new cartridge increases native capacity to 40TB and up to 100TB using compression, extending beyond the earlier 30TB version released in mid-2025.
This cartridge supports a maximum transfer rate of 400MB/sec native and up to 1000MB/sec compressed, and includes internal EEPROM cartridge memory with a 32kB electromagnetic induction antenna.
The tape measures 12.65mm in width, 4.0μm in thickness, and 1,337m in length.
Fujifilm attributes the capacity increase to refined magnetic particle engineering and thinner base film construction, which allows more tape length within the same cartridge dimensions.
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The cartridge remains compatible with existing LTO-10 drives, limiting additional infrastructure investment for current users.
One update is the expansion of recommended temperature and humidity ranges.
Support for operating temperatures between 15°C and 35°C, and humidity levels up to 80% within a 15°C to 25°C range, addresses deployment in regions where climate control may be inconsistent.
This change points to broader use beyond tightly managed data centers, including secondary facilities and regional archives.
Fujifilm emphasizes durability and stable read write performance, although real-world reliability under sustained stress conditions still depends on deployment discipline.
Tape continues to compete primarily on long-term cost efficiency rather than raw performance.