WORK IN PROGRESS
A recent Ravelry post brought this topic to light. Using slip stitch settings makes the final fabric narrow and not stretchable. That said, there may be times when vertical columns of color would benefit the remaining design. This first experiment is on a Brother machine. The repeat used is for a simple 2X2 block 
It is programmed for 2 color knitting, set up for use with the ribber and color changer. The first KC row is from the right to the left, with color changes following every 2 rows. When the carriage is first on the left, the knit carriage is set to slip in both directions. In the tests the ribber is set to knit in both directions for the sample on the left, to slip to the left for the sample on the right. When the ribber is set to slip, the main bed only will knit in the corresponding direction, and floats will be created between selected needles on the main bed. The number of rows completed on the ribber are cut in half, the resulting knit fabric is more compressed, less elongated, and narrower 
A closer look 
The same repeat may be used to produce a tucked version. In many punchcard machines, a card is supplied with a 2X2 check. With the main color, in a suitable yarn, cast on for 1X1 rib. Set the knit carriage to tuck and the ribber carriage toknit. Knit 2 rows with the contrast color, followed by 2 rows with the main color, repeating for the desired length of the rib. Knit the last row in the main color with both carriages set to knit. Transfer the ribber stitches to the main bed to continue knitting single bed.