A device for the dimensionally accurate application of an elastoplastic spacer strip onto a glass pane is disclosed. The device includes a compensating or tailback section between a first adjustably driven pair of rollers and a second adjustably driven pair of rollers, as well as a sensor for recognizing the position of the strip in the compensating section. The device is designed such that the spacer strip is not withdrawn from the storage drum but, instead, is unwound in a manner free from any tensile stress. The spacer strip, furthermore, is kept free from tensile and shearing stresses on the route up to being pressed onto a glass pane, despite the fact that the application speed will inevitably fluctuate several times between zero and a maximum value while edges of the glass pane are covered mechanically.