Patent ID: 8322278

Claim:
An embossing system for embossing preformed marker elements for the identification of cables, the embossing system including: a portable marker element carrier device configured to be carried and comprising a plurality of elongate carrier elements arranged in a stacked configuration and configured to receive a plurality of respective marker elements; a marking unit including: a docking station for detachably receiving the marker element carrier device; an embossing device arranged to impart an embossed indicia to the marker elements; and, means for selecting individual marker elements in the carrier device and operating the embossing device to mark the respective marker element with a predetermined indicia; a picker arrangement arranged to be indexed upwardly and downwardly relative to said stacked carrier elements and to slidingly remove the marker elements from the carrier device and present the respective marker elements to the embossing device and to return the respective marker elements to the carrier device following embossing; and wherein the portable carrier device is reconfigurable between said stacked configuration in which the marker elements are accessibly presented for selection by the picker arrangement, and when detached from the marking unit, a fanned out configuration in which the marker elements can be easily seen and selected by a user.