HP C7976BN LTO-6 Ultrium 6.25 TB Data Cartridge 20 Pack

The HP C7976BN LTO-6 Ultrium Data Cartridge 20-pack delivers 2.5 TB of native storage per cartridge — or up to 6.25 TB with hardware compression enabled — across a standardized LTO-6 tape format. At 160 MB/s native transfer speed (scaling to 400 MB/s compressed), each cartridge can complete a full native-capacity backup in roughly four and a half hours. The BaFe (Barium Ferrite) media coating is the key differentiator here: unlike older metal particle formulations that degrade as the magnetic particles oxidize, BaFe offers superior chemical stability and a rated archival life exceeding 30 years. For organizations bound by regulatory retention requirements, that longevity is not a marketing bullet point — it is a compliance necessity.

This 20-pack is purpose-built for IT departments and managed service providers running regular backup rotations or maintaining offsite archival vaults. Each cartridge conforms to the LTO Consortium's open standard, so compatibility extends beyond HP StoreEver drives to IBM, Quantum, Dell, and other LTO-6 libraries. The cartridges support AES 256-bit encryption when used with an encryption-capable drive, and WORM (Write Once, Read Many) functionality is available on WORM-variant SKUs. For environments still operating mixed-generation tape infrastructure, note that these cartridges are read/write compatible with LTO-5 drives at reduced capacity and read-only on LTO-4 — a useful bridge for gradual hardware upgrades.