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License Plate News

Started by Alex, February 04, 2010, 10:38:53 AM

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Kacie Jane

Quote from: vtk on January 18, 2013, 12:12:51 AM
I thought "positive contrast" was light text on dark background, and "negative contrast" dark text on light background.

Whenever I make a reference to one phrase or the other, I always have to look it up to make sure I'm using the correct one.  Without looking it up, I don't have a clue whether you're correct or not, and I'm convinced my chances of guessing correctly are worse than 50/50.


agentsteel53

Quote from: vtk on January 18, 2013, 12:12:51 AM
I thought "positive contrast" was light text on dark background, and "negative contrast" dark text on light background.

I always have to guess as well. 

QuoteAnyway, I imagine a couple of ways reflective white text on a colored background, or light colored text on a black background, can be done without beads as a last step.  The first visible layer is reflective in the lighter color.  Then the whole plate is painted in the darker color (translucent if not black), then a chemical is rollcoated to remove the dark color from the embossed letters.  Or, the first visible layer is reflective in the lighter color, then a chemical mask is rollcoated on the embossed letters which prevents the darker color from adhering when it's applied to the entire plate; then the mask is washed off with another chemical. 

...I've seen almost every episode of How It's Made.  And now I'm trying to think of a way UV-hardening might be used in license plate production...

I had no idea about those manufacturing processes; thank you for the info!
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

Scott5114

Mnemonic: positive contrast is light on dark because you can positively use Clearview in those instances.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

agentsteel53

Quote from: Scott5114 on January 18, 2013, 03:33:41 PM
Mnemonic: positive contrast is light on dark because you can positively use Clearview in those instances.

yes, but I think of Clearview negatively, so there goes that...
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

kphoger

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 18, 2013, 03:48:04 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on January 18, 2013, 03:33:41 PM
Mnemonic: positive contrast is light on dark because you can positively use Clearview in those instances.

yes, but I think of Clearview negatively, so there goes that...

But you think of it even more negatively when it's used in negative contrast, right?

Right?

No?  Well, shoot..
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

Quillz

#430
If I'm reading that PDF form correctly, we won't be able to get those vintage license plates until after 2015?

SP Cook

WV is going "flat" for all plates:

http://www.dailymail.com/Business/201301200122

And also abandoning the fundamentally stupid numbering system.  Since 1973 the state has used a system of:

*L NNNN which was exhaused and replaced by *LL NNN which is now also close to exhaustion.  The * is either 1-9 or N O or D indicating the month of expiration, which, of course, limits the number of possible combinations greatly, and requires the DMV to keep 12 sets of plates on hand.  New series will simply be NNN LLL with expiration indicated on a sticker, like most states.


kphoger

Quote from: SP Cook on January 23, 2013, 06:08:20 AM
WV is going "flat" for all plates:

http://www.dailymail.com/Business/201301200122

And also abandoning the fundamentally stupid numbering system.  Since 1973 the state has used a system of:

*L NNNN which was exhaused and replaced by *LL NNN which is now also close to exhaustion.  The * is either 1-9 or N O or D indicating the month of expiration, which, of course, limits the number of possible combinations greatly, and requires the DMV to keep 12 sets of plates on hand.  New series will simply be NNN LLL with expiration indicated on a sticker, like most states.

Including the month of expiration as part of the serial number necessarily limits the number of possible combinations, so I think it was a dumb idea in and of itself.  It basically held several million "normal" serial numbers captive (someone will probably correct me in my math).

Regarding flat plates:  I've said it before, but flat plates can look decent, but they hardly ever do.  The only flat plate, IMO, that turned out really well is Tennessee.  Some of the others have turned out less-than-total-crap, but would still look better embossed.  Nevada's doesn't even look real; if I were a police officer in a foreign country and saw a car with one, I'd likely accuse the driver of having forged a license plate.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

agentsteel53

flat plates innately aren't a problem; it's that horrid font that they seem to be using across many states these days.  the Nevada example has it, for instance.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

CentralCAroadgeek

Quote from: agentsteel53 on January 23, 2013, 09:47:13 AM
flat plates innately aren't a problem; it's that horrid font that they seem to be using across many states these days.  the Nevada example has it, for instance.

Hey, but at least there's alternate flat plate fonts. There's the alternate 3M fonts (the better ones) used by Georgia and Minnesota. Arizona and Nebraska both use flat fonts unique only to those states. The there's states like New York and Washington that uses flat plate fonts on their specialty plates that replicate the embossed font.

Quillz

Still not sure if I want to get yellow on black or yellow on blue. I like the look of the former, but my family had an old station wagon when I was little that had the yellow on blue and thus it makes me a bit nostalgic.

But more importantly, I might very well have a different car in 2015. I will be able to transfer this plate from my current car to a potential new one, right? I'd imagine it'd just be a matter of changing the VIN with the DMV. But that sounds too simple to be true.

CentralCAroadgeek

So according to License Plate News, Arizona has now reached the BAA0000 series after five years in the AAA0000 series. That'd sure be weird to look at (so will the 7AAA000 CA plates)...

agentsteel53

Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on January 24, 2013, 07:54:56 PM
So according to License Plate News, Arizona has now reached the BAA0000 series after five years in the AAA0000 series. That'd sure be weird to look at (so will the 7AAA000 CA plates)...

we're getting there.  6ZGZ904.  you can report it on that site if ya want.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

doogie1303

#438
RI switched from a AA-000 style numbers to all numbers 000-000 a few years back. They claimed that they ran out of numbers (with AA-000 style you only get 676,000 combinations) and thats why they switched to all numbers, but it doesn't make much sense. All they needed to do was add another letter and they would have more than enough new plate numbers.

With 6-digit numbers only you get 1,000,000 combinations where as with numeric/alphanumberic combinations like AAA-000, you get 17,576,000 combinations.

All numbers I think is kinda boring, considering that at one time in RI, the two letters in your plate number would have been your initials.

kphoger

Well, if they run out of 123-456 numbers, it's not like they can't still switch to ABC-123 at a later date.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

vtk

Ohio may require replacement of license plates after 7 years of use

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2013/01/29/oh--ohio-license-plates.html

This would wipe out the gold-gradient and bicentennial plates.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

thenetwork

Quote from: vtk on January 29, 2013, 08:28:11 PM
Ohio may require replacement of license plates after 7 years of use

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2013/01/29/oh--ohio-license-plates.html

This would wipe out the gold-gradient and bicentennial plates.

So even if your Ohio license plate is in near-mint condition after 7 years, you still have to get a new plate -- for the cost of $10 above the price of your annual registration.  In other words, "let's find a subliminal way to get more money out of our taxpayers".

What about those people owning antique/collectors cars who can legally use a vintage plate from the year of their car's make & model, or the one time "collector's car" plate for vehicles over 25 years old??

If Ohio is hurting that much for cash, then they should do like other states and base the annual license plate fees on the weight & age of the car instead of $xx.00 + $10-$20 more the local municipality of residence wants to add to it? 

I used to pay about $45.00/year to renew my plates where I lived in Ohio, out here in Colorado, my last renewal was $250.00 for that stinkin little sticker!!!

vtk

Quote from: thenetwork on January 29, 2013, 09:55:54 PM
So even if your Ohio license plate is in near-mint condition after 7 years, you still have to get a new plate -- for the cost of $10 above the price of your annual registration.  In other words, "let's find a subliminal way to get more money out of our taxpayers".

IIRC the article mentions something about this coming out of budget discussions, so I don't think they're trying to cover up that motivating factor.  But I have numerous times seen Ohio plates that are rusting or delaminating and becoming unreadible.  Relying on car owners to voluntarily order replacement plates as needed isn't reliable, apparently.

Quote from: thenetwork on January 29, 2013, 09:55:54 PM
What about those people owning antique/collectors cars who can legally use a vintage plate from the year of their car's make & model, or the one time "collector's car" plate for vehicles over 25 years old??

I would imagine vintage plates would still be allowed (as long as the number is readable).
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vdeane

Quote from: vtk on January 30, 2013, 02:08:15 AM
Relying on car owners to voluntarily order replacement plates as needed isn't reliable, apparently.
Then tell police officers to DO THEIR JOBS for once.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Crazy Volvo Guy

Quote from: myosh_tino on January 17, 2013, 02:05:55 PM
Found out through Daniel Faigin's cahighways.org site that the California DMV has launched the California Legacy License Plate program where car owners can pre-order vintage California plates (black-on-yellow, yellow-on-black and yellow-on-blue)...



From what I gather, the vintage plates are being treated as a specialty plate which means an annual fee will apply.  Vintage plates will be issued if the DMV receives at least 7,500 orders by January 1st, 2015.

Every state needs to do this.  I'd be first in line to pick one up.  I HATE graphic plates, but I believe I've expressed that plenty in this thread.
I hate Clearview, because it looks like a cheap Chinese ripoff.

I'm for the Red Sox and whoever's playing against the Yankees.

StogieGuy7

Quote from: kphoger on January 23, 2013, 09:21:45 AM
Regarding flat plates:  I've said it before, but flat plates can look decent, but they hardly ever do.  The only flat plate, IMO, that turned out really well is Tennessee.  Some of the others have turned out less-than-total-crap, but would still look better embossed.  Nevada's doesn't even look real; if I were a police officer in a foreign country and saw a car with one, I'd likely accuse the driver of having forged a license plate.

Agreed!  Nevada's plate is a real shame because this design was initially embossed and looked rather sharp.  Then they came out with the flat version, which looks like crap. 

Tennessee's flat plate does look pretty good; but that design would look better still if it was embossed.

Quote from: CentralCAroadgeek on January 23, 2013, 10:28:38 AM
Hey, but at least there's alternate flat plate fonts. There's the alternate 3M fonts (the better ones) used by Georgia and Minnesota. Arizona and Nebraska both use flat fonts unique only to those states. The there's states like New York and Washington that uses flat plate fonts on their specialty plates that replicate the embossed font.

Minnesota's new plates really wimped out with the same background design, but changing the (now flat) digits from blue to black.  It's another example where the older embossed version is superior. 

As for Nebraska: their truck and trailer plates (which are black and white) look incredibly fake.  Their plates are thin to begin with, and combine that with the cheap-looking font in black and white and it looks like something that was whipped up by a used car dealer.

One of the biggest lies out there about flat plates is that they increase visibility.  That's a steaming pile of bullshit.  When seen from certain angles, opaque light actually reflects off of any flat plate, creating glare and rendering it illegible.  And, from the other angles, there's NO advantage in having flat letters versus embossed as long as both plates are fully reflective.  The embossed plates are better.  In addition to being far more attractive.

Face it, flat plates are blighting our highways for one reason only: because they're cheap to make.  Not that motorists save any money; it all goes into state coffers.  And inmates have less to do. 

kphoger

Quote from: StogieGuy7 on February 21, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
Face it, flat plates are blighting our highways for one reason only: because they're cheap to make.  Not that motorists save any money; it all goes into state coffers.

It is possible that, were a state to have stayed with embossed plates, the price for registration would have gone up rather than stayed the same–or gone up more than it did, if it did.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

formulanone

Quote from: StogieGuy7 on February 21, 2013, 09:46:29 AM
Face it, flat plates are blighting our highways for one reason only: because they're cheap to make.  Not that motorists save any money; it all goes into state coffers.  And inmates have less to do. 

They also tout that they're typically more readable by red-light and toll cameras which issue tickets. Which means more revenue generation, and essentially does nothing for the end-user.

Scott5114

I actually feel like Oklahoma's current flat plate is miles better than the one it replaced, though part of that is probably due to me getting sick of the previous design after having had to stare at it for 20 years, and not caring for Oklahoma's embossed font. (The flat plate uses Series C digits and some kind of squared-off variant of Series C letters).
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

corco

Oklahoma's plate isn't bad at all



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