THORNDIKE BARNHART DICTIONARY: "Data 1. Pl of datum. Things known or granted. facts. 2. Strictly, data is plural, with a little-used singular datum. Its meaning is actually collective and may sometimes stress a group of facts as a unit and so be used with a singular verb. Sometimes, referring to individual facts, data is used with a plural: The actual data of history consists of contemporary facts (sing.). Our task is to analyze when the data have been secured (pl.). The singular verb can be safely used in any but the most formal writing."
Your claim above that data is only something that you can print, in the context in which you made that statement, reveals you to be out of your league. Put simply, this debate is over your head.