A sheet punching and embossing machine includes a stationary table provided with a counter plate, a movable table provided with a punching knife, and a stroke drive for reciprocatingly moving the movable table vertically relative to the counter plate. The reciprocating stroke drive has at least one eccentric shaft mounted in a machine frame and pressure rollers eccentrically mounted on the eccentric shaft. The reciprocating stroke drive further includes a non-uniformly acting mechanism for imparting a non-uniform movement to the movable table.