Abstract: Apparatus for recording characters on a photographic record medium including spaced feed and takeup reels for carrying a roll of the medium. A support such as a cylinder is disposed between the reels supports the record medium. A carriage is controllably movable opposite the support and in a direction transverse to the direction of record medium movement. A recording head on the carriage has a radiation emitter device for emitting intensity modulated radiation toward the cylindrical support along a scan line which makes an angle with the direction of the transverse movement.