A method and apparatus for recording on magnetic media which comprises a magnetic wheel made from a magnetic material, that is essentially an isotropic material such as NdFeB (neodymium iron boron) material having an energy product on the order of 7.1 MGOe. The magnetic wheel is operatively connected to a drive motor by juxtapositioning a magnetization write head having a gap that produces the desired flux pattern in response to the electrical input to a coil within the head, encoded magnetic information is placed on the wheel. The magnetized wheel can than be used to record encoded data upon preselected media, such as metered paper for a thermal printer.