A method for recording character or marking signals by multi-beam laser technique, in which the characters are recorded in multi-rastered bands in such a way that the character information is inverted, whereby the recording surface is illuminated by the laser beams at each location that do not comprise characters or marks. In character locations the surface is not illuminated. The gaps between adjacent bands are illuminated by separate band gap illuminating laser beams. By using this method the electrophotographic image recording can be solved by means of conventional inexpensive positive copiers in which image reversal does not take place. The apparatus for carrying out the method comprises a Bragg cell, a control unit for producing several raster scanning laser beams, and oscillators for generating additional band gap illuminating laser beams. An inverting unit is inserted in the path between the information source and the control unit to perform electronic image reversal.