I think i understand what you mean. you want a thin horizontal image (probably of text) wrapped around in a circle.
In the 2D tunnel effect you get a 2d image and wrap it around in a circle maybe that could be of some use. you have use polar co-ordinates.
another way would be to use a bitmapped font that is fixed width. take each individual letter and perform 2d rotation on each char around a circle. but that is beyond my expertise. good luck.
