The Tapes available:

What can be recorded on the tapes?

All tapes will be recorded in Hi-Fi Stereo.

Tapes on VHS and SuperVHS source will be recorded in SP (2 Hour) mode only.

No mixing and matching unless using short source tapes.

For example, a tape could be: Marmalade Boy Movie (60 min) and Bastard OAV (5-6) (60 min).

What will video on the tapes look like?

The quality of my tapes range from Excellent to Poor. Of course, any tapes I make will tapes will be a little bit worse due to generational losses, though VHS tapes from an SuperVHS master will suffer the least.

LD Laserdisc (1st Gen LD Master)
EX Excellent (1-2 Gen SVHS)
VG Very Good (VHS off LD)
GD Good (VHS quality)
FR Fair (Grainy but watchable)
PR Poor (lots of defects)

Note:
I attempt to be as accurate as possible in the rating of the videotapes. However, some of the ratings may be off, so if there is an obvious discrepancy in the quality of the video from the rating in the list, please let me know so that I can update the list appropriately.
I am always searching for better copies of tapes that have a "GD-" or lower rating.

What will the outside of the tape look like?

I will label the face (top) of the tape in order to identify the tape. I will include spine labels, so that you can label it yourself. I can't print labels yet, but I hope to be able to at some point.

What kind of tapes do I use and what packaging do they come with?

Copies will mostly be recorded on Fuji UH-620 (Broadcast Gold) tape spooled by The Tape Company. These tapes will have a blue shell and be stamped in foil with the following message: Fan-subtitled Anime; For fans, by fans. Not for sale or rent. Thanks go to John Pfeiffer for commissioning the stamp for everyone to use.

The UH-611 tape stock was too thick to spool in T-150 lengths, so T-150's will be the Fuji UH-510 tape (PG Professional) in a green shell, as opposed to the blue T-120 shell. Because the UH-510 is slightly less expensive, the T150 length only costs a few cents more than the UH-611 in T120 length. Therefore, I can keep the reimbursement amounts for the two lengths the same.

Once my supply of T-150 tapes runs out, I will be switching to UH620 for all tape lengths.

The fansubbers and distributors on the TAFMAL mailing list agree that UH-510 tapes are as good or better than TDK HiFi tape. The UH-611 tapes are even higher quality, with the added benefit of being more durable, so they will withstand more plays before showing signs of wear.

Unfortunately, the UH-620 tapes aren't quite as nice as the UH-611's were. Apparently, the only way to get UH-611's anymore is to buy them as Fuji pre-packaged tapes, which run about twice as much as the bulk-loaded tapes. I will be keeping a watch for suitable replacement tapes,

Sleeves or Boxes

Tapes can be shipped with either

1. plastic sleeves - These cover the tape on 5 of its 6 sides. The tapes slide into the side of the sleeve.
2. plastic library boxes - These are clamshell cases that completely enclose the tape.

Although the purchase cost of each of the boxes and sleeves are within 3 cents of each other, the tapes with the boxes weigh more (2.5 lbs instead of 1.9 lbs) and therefore cost $1 extra to ship via Priority Mail.

The additional weight impacts the costs of international shipping more severely, so boxes are not available for international requests.

SuperVHS Copies?

1. Panasonic Pro Line Industrial AG-1980 $1200 - pretty much the best VCR under $2000. Check out Profeel for the best price.
2. Panasonic Consumer PVS-7690 $800 - pretty decent.
3. Mitsubishi HSU-770 $700 - The one I use.

Not recommended are the really low end SVHS VCRs.

4. Panasonic PVS-7670 $450
5. Panasonic PVS-7680 $600 - better, but not much better than PVS-7670.
6. RCA SVHS $400 - cheap, but too much color noise to be acceptable, and the picture looks like VHS resolution anyway.

While I'm at it, here is my sole recommendation for VHS Hi-Fi.

7. Panasonic Pro Line Industrial AG-2550 $329 - Rock solid, and has Quasi-SVHS playback, but no flying erase heads, and no manual audio level control.

I get my AG-2550 VCRs from J&R Music World: (800) 221-8180.