Apparatus for sensing the position of an electrically conductive printing band in which the band moves at varying depths within the gap of an inductor in an inductor-capacitor resonance circuit that is periodically energized to induce eddy currents in the band. The oscillatory ringing resulting from pulsing the tank circuit decays at a rate that varies with the magnitude of the induced eddy current and, hence, the depth of the band in the gap. By counting the number of voltage excursions across the tank circuit resulting from an excitation that exceed a predetermined threshold during decay, the position of the band can be deduced. Corrective positioning may thereafter be undertaken.