Really cool project idea @MTO hope you have fun with it. Following along "the barcodes etched into it would be kinda amazing" This would be cool and a real possibility.
A real possibility: Oh, I know it. If you don't do it, I will! So, I'm kinda a math nerd, so I'm already having fun with this stuff. Also, it turns out this paper hits really close to home for my sister, because she used deBruijn graphs in her PhD thesis, so it's kinda a family project! We're weird like this. Nerdy, and proud!
This is interesting: I spoke to a sales rep at plasticworld.ca, and I can get acrylic square rod for 25 cents CDN per foot that will fit into the slot on Al extrusions. They can also laser etch it (still have to work out a file for them and get a quote on that, but I don't expect it to be terribly expensive. If I use the acrylic as a light pipe, it looks like I can make a rod that will work quite well. I'm working on a herringbone like barcode that might be easier to etch too. The ideas, I has them. Anyhow, it kinda looks like the light-piped barcode might be higher contrast than etched aluminum, too.