Back when the computer did not exist, people talked and shared in many ways. One of the earliest ways was Morse code. This was a code of dots and dashes representing the letters of the alphabet. Morse code allowed people to send messages through telegraph lines and communicate over long distances.
With advancing technology, people required better methods of managing and storing data. This resulted in paper tape. This approach saved information on long tapes of paper that had holes punched into them. These holes formed patterns that represented various letters and numbers, so that computers could read the information.
Paper tape printing certainly had a lot going for it as a means of storing and exchanging information. One big advantage was that paper tape was sturdy. It could be stored for long periods of time without becoming ruined, so it was a reliable way to store data. And also paper tape was easy to shuffle and could be read by people and computers. That meant it would be good for transmitting information.
Paper tape printing was an important development in the early computer and programming world. Before paper tape, computer programmers used punch cards to insert data into computers. This was a slow and error-prone process. Paper tape printing made this so quick and easy that programmers found it to be fast and accurate.
A paper tape printer also allowed programmers to share and collaborate on projects. By exchanging paper tapes, they were able to exchange code and data between disparate computers. This collaboration led to the development of new technologies and applications.
Paper tape printing is done with a device called tape punch. This is the tool for punching holes in a long strip of paper. The holes are grouped in configurations representing different letters or commands. The paper tape fed into a computer or printer, with sensors reading the holes and translating them into digital data.
Though paper tape may seem old-school, it’s had a resurgence in recent years. Businesses are in search of inexpensive, environmentally friendly ways to store and share data. Paper tape printing is used now in many modern contexts, including backing up data and encoding music and video files, even as a medium for art.