Paper tape stands as one of the earliest and most influential forms of data storage and transmission in technological history. Its conceptual roots date back to 1725, when Basile Bouchon invented a loom that utilized perforated paper rolls to manipulate weaving patterns. Joseph Marie Jacquard perfected the idea in 1801, whose Jacquard loom utilized punched cards to automate intricate textile designs. Not only did this revolutionize the textile industry, it also laid the groundwork for the concept of programmable data storage. The real impetus towards punched media emerged in the mid 19th century with Alexander Bain's 1846 application, using punched tape for telegraphical purposes. His system allowed operators to pre-record messages onto strips of paper and transmit them automatically, revolutionizing telegraph communication through immense upticks in speed and efficiency. 

By the mid-20th century, paper tape had become a standard medium in computing, finding its way into teletype machines and early programmable computers. It was particularly notable during World War II, where it played a critical role in the functionality of  the Colossus, an early digital computers originating in the UK. Colossus used high-speed paper tape readers in order to process encryption at high efficiency- thousands of characters per second, to be exact. This marked a pivotal moment in the history of computing, demonstrating the immense potential of automated data processing. Paper tape was also used extensively in the post-war period for numerical control in manufacturing, where it allowed machine tools to operate with precision using pre-punched instructions.

In the 1960s and 1970s, paper tape saw its apex as it became ubiquitous in telecommunications, industrial controls, and minicomputers. Paper tape rolls, with their continuous format, were capable of storing larger quantities of data than their punch card counterparts, making them an economical choice. Companies like Hewlett-Packard capitalized on this technology, producing devices such as the 1966 HP 2753A Tape Punch, capable of punching 120 characters per second. For its time, these numbers were remarkable. However, despite its strengths, paper tape was profoundly fragile and lacked the data density of emerging storage technologies like magnetic tape and floppy disks.  

By the 1980s, paper tape had largely fallen out of favor as magnetic storage and disk drives began to dominate the landscape of data processing and storage. These newer technologies offered significantly faster speeds, higher storage capacities, and greater durability. However, paper tape persisted in niche applications, such as controlling numerically controlled (CNC) machines. Paper tape could still excel in this application on the basis of its simplicity and reliability. Today, while it is largely a historical relic, paper tape holds an important place in the evolution of information technology. It bridged the gap between manual and digital processes, providing the foundation for modern data storage and automated control systems. 

The British Colossus machine was one of the first programmable digital computers. Developed in World War II, it implemented paper tape as a codebreaker of sorts, decyphering enemy commuications. It is particularly notable for decrypting the Lorenz cipher used by the German military, a cypher system in which plaintext is combined with random bitstream to generate ciphertext. The machine could read paper tape at an astonishing rate of 5,000 characters per second, demonstrating the utility of paper tape in large-scale cryptographic and computational efforts. 

Paper tape was widely implemented in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines during the mid-20th century. Perhaps the biggest invention in manufacturing and automation of the era, CNC machines used perforated tape to store and execute precise instructions for part machination.  Paper tape, in particular, allowed for repeatability and automation in multiple industries when coupled with CNC machines. By encoding instructions directly onto the tape, engineers could program complex processes without requiring manual intervention, laying the groundwork for modern programmable machinery.