Ink Ribbons have been used for years in traditional time and attendance systems. When you purchase a traditional time clock system you get a ribbon included with your system, for different systems there are different varieties you can purchase.  They come in many different colours for example, blue, black, red and purple, which can be used for showing in different places on the clock cards for example, red if your employee is late, black if they are on time.  They also come in different materials, nylon and cotton.