OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A shortage of Washington license plates is forcing the state to change the way they issue them.

The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) announced on Tuesday, Sept. 24, that it’s starting to print non-embossed plates.

The embossing process raises the letters and numbers on a license plate but requires an extra step that includes manual labor. Non-embossed plates, meanwhile, can be printed using just one machine and the DOL says there is no difference in quality or durability.

According to the department, more than half of counties in the state are currently out of stock of at least one type of license plate.

It estimates that printing non-embossed plates could eliminate the shortage within six to eight weeks. Once the shortage is over, the DOL says it will reevaluate whether non-embossed license plates should be the new standard in Washington.

Currently, 28 other states in the U.S. only offer non-embossed plates.