Assume we encode the data on acid free paper with color-retaining ink using colored squares of size 1/64" x 1/64", using one of 64 colors in each square. There are then 4,096 of the squares in 1 square inch, so (assuming we print on 8"x10" regions) we can fit 327680 squares on a side of a sheet of paper, so that there are 655360 squares on a sheet of paper (if we use both sides). Each square encodes 6 bits of information, so we have 3932160 bits per piece of paper, or 491520 bytes, which is 480 KB.
At this rate, encoding a gigabyte requires 2,185 pages. As an aside, this is only 5 pages fewer than are contained in the "Art of Computer Programming" box set.
We can comfortably fit a gigabyte, then, on printed paper, in a 10"x12"x5" box. A terabyte will then fit comfortably in a 10'x10'x5' space. Throw a few of these together to get 5 terabytes. Let's add, say, 1 TB more of error correcting codes. In the unused margins of each page add in some information about alignment, a printing of all the colors used (to try to protect against inks changing color over time) and the page number. All together, this is certainly big, but could probably fit in, say, a tractor-trailer. Throw in some books describing the data format and the meaning of the data, and you're done.
At this rate, encoding a gigabyte requires 2,185 pages. As an aside, this is only 5 pages fewer than are contained in the "Art of Computer Programming" box set.
We can comfortably fit a gigabyte, then, on printed paper, in a 10"x12"x5" box. A terabyte will then fit comfortably in a 10'x10'x5' space. Throw a few of these together to get 5 terabytes. Let's add, say, 1 TB more of error correcting codes. In the unused margins of each page add in some information about alignment, a printing of all the colors used (to try to protect against inks changing color over time) and the page number. All together, this is certainly big, but could probably fit in, say, a tractor-trailer. Throw in some books describing the data format and the meaning of the data, and you're done.