Fujifilm and IBM today announced they jointly developed a technology that makes it possible to store 35TB of data on a single magnetic tape. The companies say the tape can store the “text of 35 million books, which would require 248 miles (399 km) of bookshelves”. 35TB is about 44 times as much as previously possible.

The tape, which measures 800 meters in length by one-half-inch wide, boasts a density of 29.5 billion bits per square inch.

The tape is based on a barium ferrite magnetic material developed by the two companies. Magnetic tapes usually use metal magnetic particles to store data. To increase capacity, the size of those particles needs to be reduced. This procedure, however, leads to weaker magnetism of the particles. The new Fujifilm/IBM material boasts high magnetism even in small particles (particle size has been reduced to one-third that of conventional metal magnetic substances).

Fujifilm and IBM aim at commercializing the new magnetic tape in the near future, mainly targeting data centers.