For the first time in about a decade, Kansas license plates are getting a makeover. On Wednesday, Kansas adopted a new digital production process, which has changed how the license plates are distributed. In the past, embossed plates were manufactured in bulk and distributed in large numbers to county motor vehicle offices. People purchasing a new car or otherwise needing a new license plate would get that plate along with the registration sticker at the same time at the Treasurer’s Office. But that has now changed according to Barton County Motor Vehicle Manager Paige Volkel.

Paige Volkel Audio

Volkel points out that vehicle owners needing a new plate will have to be more intentional about keeping track of their registration stickers while they wait for their new plates to arrive. She also points out that not everyone needs a new license plate.

Paige Volkel Audio

New plates will be created using a digital printer that prints letters and numbers on a background, then bonds the background material to the flat metal plate. This print-on-demand process produces a license plate that will be mailed from the manufacturing site in Wichita to the owner’s address. The old manufacturing process required overproduction to make sure the offices had extra plates, leading to about $1 million in extra inventory that was never sold.