An optical fiber is colored to provide a striped pattern while maintaining a
substantially
uniform diameter of the fiber. In one embodiment, a coating of a first curable
material having a base color is applied to an optical fiber core section using
a coloring die. One or more stripes of a second curable material are applied using
the die to the coating before the coating is fully cured. The stripe has a stripe
color different from the base color and is formed in the coating such that the
diameter of the fiber remains substantially uniform. In another embodiment, a tandem
coloring system is used in which the coating is partially cured and one or more
striping nozzles apply stripe(s) to the partially cured coating. In a further embodiment,
the base color coating is applied and cured leaving one or more gaps. One or more
stripes are applied in the gap(s) and cured to fully cover the fiber with a substantially
uniform diameter.
