Abstract: A positioning device for a machine tool includes a substrate upon which a printing medium is deposited. The substrate has a longitudinal dimension that is longer than the transverse direction of the substrate. The printing medium includes magnetic or magnetizable particles, and the substrate is nonmagnetic. A scale is formed by first regions of the printing medium on the substrate and by second regions without the printing medium between adjacent first regions. The first regions are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction on the substrate. The printing medium is printed within the first regions on the substrate such that the printing medium is thinner in the interior of the first regions and thicker at the edges of the first regions. The location of the positioning device is determined by applying a measuring magnetic field and by detecting a resulting magnetic field emanating from a particular first region on the scale.