Abstract: An apparatus for putting on a thin strip a bar code consisting of a plurality of parallel thin and wide bars of respective thin and wide widths and a plurality of thin and wide spaces separating the bars has a plurality of stations spaced apart along a transport path extending in a transport direction and each having a respective group of tools of the relatively thin width, the tools of each station being immediately juxtaposed with one another in the direction. The strip is stepped in the direction along the path through the stations and only selected ones of the respective tools are selected and moved by actuators down into the strip. A controller is connected to the selector and actuator unit and to the transporter for forming each of the thin bars by pressing into the strip a one of the tools.

Abstract: A bar code consists of a plurality of parallel thin and wide bars of respective thin and wide widths and a plurality of thin and wide spaces separating the bars with each of the wide widths being generally equal to a number N times the thin width. Such a code is put on a thin strip by stepping the strip through N punching stations and forming the thin bars by pressing into the strip at the stations a tool having the thin width corresponding to that of the thin bar. Each of the wide bars is formed by first pressing into the strip at a first one of the stations another such thin tool having the relatively thin width to form a respective partial wide bar, and thereafter pressing into the strip at each succeeding station immediately adjacent the partial wide bar another such thin tool having the relatively thin width to widen the partial wide bar until the partial wide bar is of the relatively wide width.