Receipts of yesteryear

In the olden days receipts used to be printed with a fixed system of figures or symbols (in the middle). The variation in what could be printed was limited. I remember getting long receipts from supermarkets with only the prices. If a mistake was made (e.g. the wrong price was entered into the cash register), it was very difficult to find out where the mistake was made.
Later matrix printed receipts became popular, that meant that there was no restriction on what could be printed.
Nowadays thermal printing is popular, so that there is no need for changing ink, but they fade over time, leaving no record.