Machine readable merchandise tag

Claim 1

A TAG ADAPTED TO BE READ BY A READER HAVING A PROBE AND A PLURALITY OF PHOTO-TRANSDUCERS EACH MOUNTED FOR SCANNING MOVEMENT IN A DIFFERENT CONCENTRIC CIRCULAR PATH CENTERED ABOUT SAID PROBE, SAID TAG COMPRISING: A SHEET OF PRINTING STOCK HAVING A PRINT RECEPTIVE SURFACE THEREON, A FIRST PLURALITY OF INFORMATION MARK POSITIONS, SAID POSITIONS BEING LOCATED ON SAID PRINT RECEPTIVE SURFACE OF SAID TAG AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE PHOTOSENSIBLE INFORMATION MARKS, A PLURALITY OF PHOTOSENSIBLE TIMING MARKS IMPRINTED ON AND OPTICALLY CONTRASTING WITH SAID PRINT RECEPTIVE SURFACE OF SAID TAG, SAID TIMING MARKS BEING EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE NUMBER OF SAID INFORMATION MARK POSITIONS AND ARRANGED IN A CIRCULAR PATTERN CONCENTRIC WITH SAID INFORMATION MARK PATTERN FOR SYNCHRONOUSLY GENERATING TIMING SIGNALS DURING THE SCANNING OF SAID INFORMATION POSITIONS, A START MARK IMPRINTED ON AND OPTICALLY CONTRASTING WITH SAID PRINT RECEPTIVE SURFACE OF SAID TAG, SAID START MARK BEING OFFSET FROM THE CENTER OF SAID CONCENTRIC CIRCULAR PATTERNS, AND AN ALIGNER LOCATED AT THE CENTER OF SAID PATTERNS, SAID ALIGNER BEING ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID PROBE FOR ALIGNING SAID CONCENTRIC CIRCULAR READER SCANNING PATHS WITH SAID RESPECTIVE CONCENTRIC CIRCULAR TIMING AND INFORMATION PATTERNS AND START MARK, THEREBY FACILITATING TAG READING OF SAID MARKS BY SAID PHOTOTRANSDUCERS.