The parking tickets that Ames residents soon will find on their cars may look a little different. Starting July 10, Ames parking attendants will have a new way of issuing tickets.

Parking attendants will be armed with small hand-held computers that can print tickets on the spot.

The Automated Citation Issuance System, called AutoCite, electronically stores information about the vehicle, which can then be downloaded into a mainframe.

Each unit is only 9.25 inches high and weighs just two pounds, according to a newsletter from the City of Ames. The units can be plugged directly into the main computer, which means handwritten information doesn’t have to be re-keyed at the end of a shift as it did in the past.

Five AutoCite computers have been purchased by the city, at a total cost of $22,000, according to the newsletter. At any one time four of the computers will be in use, with one left as a backup.

“The old computer system needed to be updated to be compatible with the year 2000,” said Donna Scherr, administrative assistant for the City Attorney’s Office. Scherr, who is overseeing the project, said most newer systems are more geared toward the hand-held units.

Scherr said another benefit of the new system will be improved accuracy.

“There is less chance of error [with AutoCite],” Scherr said. “All colors and models of cars are in the computer and just need to be selected. It’s easy to misread [parking attendants’] writing sometimes,” she said.

All Ames Police officers will still use handwritten tickets, Scherr said. She said the AutoCite units will only be used by meter attendants and community safety officers.

In addition, AutoCite can only be used for parking violations, not for other types of tickets.

Scherr said there are no similar systems available for moving violations yet, but that would certainly be a possibility in the future.

Tickets printed from an AutoCite unit will look different than handwritten tickets. Scherr said the tickets will be similar to a grocery-store receipt rather than a traditional parking ticket.

“They’re smaller and more nondescript,” Scherr said. “A separate envelope will be put on the windshield with the ticket, instead of the ticket and envelope being together like they are now.” She said the new tickets are also printed with a special type of ink that will not fade if the ticket gets wet.

While some people may be confused by one of the new tickets, Scherr said not to worry.

“The tickets have the new city logo on the back, so you know it’s official and someone didn’t just put a grocery receipt on your car,” she said.