Presumably they were simpler-minded fifteen years ago; either that, or the art major's high-end printer was a lot higher-end than it seemed.
A pretty picture cut to the right size would work. I think it was enough to prevent casual errors rather than strict validation.
There's been consolidation in the industry, so there's really only the US and JAP makers left, and the US maker (MEI) is so far ahead of the rest of the world, there's no point.