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I recently noticed that the State of Illinois has changed the font of the *stamping* on license plates.
The design is the same, but the stamped text is a bit thinner and the glyphs are blockier.
I am surprised how much this change is bothering me, to be honest. It has never occurred to me how much that is a defining feature. The first one I saw I assumed had to be fake!
But - I'm relieved they're still being stamped.
Shame on all the states that just print them now. Cheapskates.
@TechConnectify Does stamping them do anything for durability? Honest question.
I’ve seen vehicles with the old Illinois design peeling off portions, so the stamping might help with that?
@jterhorst I don't think the intent is for durability, I think the intent is more of an anti-counterfeiting measure.
It's a lot harder to make a fake plate look legit when real plates have texture to them. But, a side bonus is that if paint is flaking off the plate, you can at least see the lettering by the remaining shapes. By the time a plate gets that bad, though, you've probably been flagged for replacement.
@TechConnectify @jterhorst Being flagged for replacement? Quebec should take notes - it seems half the plates here are peeling!
@vorboyvo @jterhorst well, I probably shouldn't have used the word flagged. As far as I know, there wasn't a mechanism for that but there has always been an easy* way to request a replacement.
*there was probably some bureaucracy involved but there are posters about it at the registration offices. A run of bad plates years ago was particularly susceptible to premature wear so it was A Thing
@TechConnectify true. although given the increasing prevalence of cars covering their licence plates with something like dark cellophane to avoid paying tolls or traffic violation camera fines, it seems like leaving it up to the car owners isn't necessarily the best policy