EXABYTE TO DEVELOP TAPE DRIVES BASED ON 3M'S TRAVAN TECHNOLOGY

ST. PAUL, Minn. (May 10, 1995) -- Plans for Travan minicartridge technology
to meet end user data storage needs ranging from desktop through
enterprise systems were strengthened today when Exabyte Corp., Boulder,
Colo., joined 3M in supporting that technology.

Exabyte plans to manufacture and market midrange and high-end minicartridge
tape drives using the Travan platform The products will be based on a
unique drive/minicartridge interface included in a patent application
filed by 3M.

The Travan migration path for the new drive and minicartridge products
should exceed 15 gigabytes (GB) of uncompressed storage capacity by 1997,
according to 3M.

"The benefit of Travan technology is that it has the potential to be
standardized across all market segments, from the desktop to the midrange
to the enterprise," said Ernie Wassmann, Exabyte's vice president of
marketing.

"Exabyte's endorsement is particularly noteworthy because it positions
Travan technology in the performance segments of the market," said Michael
Stevens, business development director, 3M Data Storage Tape Technology
Division. "Exabyte's demonstrated leadership in high performance tape
storage and automation will certainly accelerate the acceptance of Travan
technology."

"As acceptance of Travan technology increases across all market segments,
there will be a need for storage automation capabilities," Wassmann added.
"As the industry leader in automated tape libraries, Exabyte will offer
our expertise in both high performance tape drive and reliable storage
automation solutions."

"This announcement is further indication of the broad-based support that
exists for Travan technology," said Stevens. "Since Exabyte is a leader in
high capacity, high performance tape technologies, the company's
participation in this program is a strong endorsement of the Travan
roadmap."

3M, Exabyte and other licensees of the Travan technology are investigating
advanced media formulations, track-density improvements, and high speed
computer interfaces to enable high capacity increases with the Travan
platform, said Stevens. 3M also is participating in new software
co-development alliances that will transform the role of tape on the
desktop and further enhance Travan technology's role in the local area
network (LAN) environment.

Optimized Minicartridge Platform

The initial points along the Travan migration path will include a modified
version of QIC80, 3010 and 3020 recording formats that accept the new
cartridge.

3M recently announced availability of its TR-1 minicartridge, the first in
a series of new high capacity tape products that the company plans to
introduce this year. The TR-1 minicartridge provides users with 400 MB of
uncompressed storage capacity, more than doubling the capacity of the
industry's top-selling QIC-80 minicartridge (currently 125 MB).

The uncompressed storage capacity of the TR-2 minicartridge, a new modified
3010 drive/cartridge, is expected to be 800 MB (now 340 MB). The capacity
of the TR-3 minicartridge, a new modified 3020 drive/cartridge, is
expected to be 1.6 GB (now 670 MB). 3M also plans to introduce its TR-4
minicartridge in 1995 with a capacity of 4 GB. The industry is currently
defining the TR-5 at approximately 10 GB.

The Travan platform will optimize available space in a 3.5-inch drive form
factor housing. Mechanical changes will enable the drive to accept current
QIC minicartridges, QIC-Wide and Travan cartridges. The new cartridge will
contain 750 feet of .315-inch media. The initial Travan cartridge
offerings will require no changes in media formulation, and will use
existing drive electronics and available head technology.

Recently, Hewlett Packard's Colorado Memory Systems Division, Conner
Peripherals and 3M announced tape products based on the Travan platform.
In addition, Iomega, Rexon, Sony, Pertec Memories and AIWA have announced
plans to develop products incorporating Travan technology.

Headquartered in Boulder, Colo., Exabyte Corp. designs, manufactures and
markets a full range of tape storage products: 8mm, 4mm and quarter-inch
minicartridge tape drives, tape libraries and recording media. Exabyte is
the world's largest independent manufacturer focused solely on tape
storage products, which it ships to original equipment manufacturers,
value-added resellers and distributors. For Exabyte product information:
in North America call 1-800-EXABYTE, in Europe call 31-3403-51-347, and in
Asia call 65-271-6331.

Data cartridge technology, invented and patented by 3M, is the world's most
popular desktop tape backup technology and boasts an installed base of
more than 11 million drives, with three million drives shipped in 1994
alone.

3M is the world's largest supplier of branded minicartridges. For more
information on minicartridge technology, contact 3M at (800) 888-1889,
ext. 33.

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