A number of recognition operations for a circuit-formed substrate as a whole is reduced by concurrently recognizing a bad mark and an individual substrate mark in the course of a recognition process of a single or a plurality of individual substrate(s) provided by sectioning the circuit-formed substrate. Results of the recognition of an inclination and dislocation of the circuit-formed substrate are used to control a position of a substrate-recognition camera which recognizes the individual substrate, thereby reducing a rate of occurrence of recognition errors. When a component of recognition marks or the individual substrate mark is captured within a visual field of the substrate-recognition camera, a position of a corresponding one of these recognized marks is specified, and such a mark is again recognized, and thus, the occurrence of a recognition error can be inhibited.