An indepth review of some of our user’s struggles and successes with previous processes, DocketManager and the buying process.
Utah State University, Aggie Print & Mail
How Aggie Print & Mail unified its MIS, online ordering, and payments with DocketManager
PROFILE:
Utah State University’s Aggie Print & Mail is one of the most comprehensive in-plant operations in higher education. An auxiliary of USU, a land-grant university based in Logan, Utah, the shop has existed in one form or another since 1960, evolving from a small duplicating center into a full-service operation spanning screen printing, embroidery, direct-to-film, high-speed digital printing, engraving, wide-format, flatbed UV, and a complete mail center that sorts and delivers all incoming campus mail each day.
The shop is led by Director Greg Christiansen, who brings 26 years of commercial print sales experience and 13 years at USU, and Tracee Tillotson, the Assistant Director, who spent 17 years in yearbook manufacturing before joining the university. Between them, they bring decades of print industry perspective to a shop that serves the entire USU system across multiple Utah campuses, as well as local businesses that find their way in through word of mouth.
With 18 full-time employees and between 20 and 35 student part-timers, Aggie Print handles a wide range of products and customers, from internal university departments to outside organizations paying by credit card. Managing that complexity with a fragmented set of tools eventually made a platform change inevitable.
KEY RESULTS
Since going live with DocketManager, Aggie Print & Mail has seen meaningful improvements in how orders are placed, processed, and tracked:
- A single unified platform handling MIS, online ordering, and payment processing — replacing a fragmented multi-system setup
- Point-of-sale simplicity that has become the cornerstone of daily CSR operations, reducing errors and training time
- Two to three dedicated online storefronts launched for campus divisions, with more in development for local school districts
- A path toward paperless production, with the goal of eliminating physical job folders in favor of digital job tracking
“I’m 100% trending in the right direction. Where we’ve been and where we’re going, I like the path we’re on.”
CHALLENGE
For years, Aggie Print relied on an older MIS system the team genuinely valued for core job management. But as the shop’s capabilities grew and customer expectations shifted, critical gaps became harder to ignore.
The most pressing issue was the absence of integrated online ordering. Customers had no meaningful digital way to place orders, and the shop was cobbling together a website that didn’t communicate with the MIS. Pricing updates had to be made in multiple places, creating inconsistency. Every job involved too many manual touchpoints as staff moved between disconnected screens.
Payment processing added another layer of complexity. Aggie Print serves both internal university departments, which bill through index codes and OCCs, and outside customers who pay by credit card. Their existing setup had no clean path for handling both in one place.
The customer experience also felt increasingly outdated. University marketing controls a catalog of over a hundred logos, and giving customers a clear, modern way to navigate and order against those assets required more than their old system could offer.
“We wanted one database. We wanted to be able to update prices in one area and have them flow through. We wanted orders to come in and limit touchpoints.”
SOLUTION
After evaluating several MIS platforms against a defined list of requirements, Aggie Print & Mail selected DocketManager. A few factors were non-negotiable: the university’s IT policy required Single Sign-On (SSO), and the shop needed a single database that could handle pricing, products, order entry, and payment processing in one place. DocketManager met every item on that list.
Tracee Tillotson led the hands-on build and configuration, working with the DocketManager support team. The shop went fully live on July 1st. Implementation was iterative, core products and workflows were built out first, with ongoing refinement continuing post-launch as the team discovered more efficient configurations.
Two outcomes stood out immediately. First, the point-of-sale module gave CSRs a single, consistent screen for order entry. Tracee made a deliberate choice to restrict CSRs to working within the POS, reducing the risk of accidental changes while keeping the intake process fast and uniform. Second, the online storefront opened a new channel for order placement, campus divisions can now order branded products through dedicated stores, and the team is actively building out similar storefronts for local school districts.
BUSINESS IMPACT
DocketManager has become the operational backbone of Aggie Print & Mail’s day-to-day work, and the team has only begun to explore its full potential. The support relationship has been a consistent bright spot, with patience and responsiveness throughout a busy post-launch period.
The shop is actively working toward paperless production, replacing physical job folders with digital job tracking through DocketManager. The team is also in the early stages of improving how rush and time-sensitive flags flow from the job level down to individual components, a change that would allow production leads to surface urgent items more easily during end-of-day huddles.
Looking ahead, Greg sees web-to-print as the area with the greatest growth potential. More online stores are planned for campus divisions, and the team is exploring whether local school districts could become meaningful online ordering customers. The recent addition of a direct-to-film printer opens up new possibilities for catalog-based apparel decoration that the online channel could support at scale.
“That is probably my favorite thing about it — the point of sale is so easy and straightforward. We used to go from screen to screen to screen. This is just so much nicer.”
Tracee Tillotson, Operations Lead, Aggie Print & Mail
Breton Print
Breton Print streamlines production and grows with confidence utilizing DocketManager
PROFILE:
Breton Print is a full-service commercial print shop based in North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Founded by Andrew Brooks, the company serves individuals, small businesses, artists, and organizations across Cape Breton Island and beyond, shipping nationally while keeping its roots firmly planted in the local community.
Andrew’s path to the print industry is anything but conventional. With a background spanning film school, graphic design, environmental studies, and a master’s degree in cultural anthropology, Andrew eventually landed in Cape Breton where he and his wife took over a local community newspaper. It was through running that paper that Andrew identified a clear gap in the market: his area had virtually no local print services.
True to form, Andrew didn’t start small. After leasing a production printer, all 15 feet and 3 inches of it, Breton Print was born, initially operating out of a basement. The shop has since relocated to a characterful old wholesale warehouse in North Sydney, expanded into large format printing, and grown its team. Today, Breton Print has been going strong for eight years, serving clients across Nova Scotia and shipping to customers coast to coast.
KEY RESULTS
Since adopting DocketManager approximately 18 months ago, Breton Print has seen meaningful gains in how jobs move through their shop:
- Real-time job visibility across all active queues, giving the team instant clarity on where every order stands
- Item-level job management, allowing individual components of a multi-part order to move through production independently
- Customized client documents and automated emails built in partnership with the DocketManager development team
- A scalable foundation that can’t be imagined doing without; volume of work moving through the system has grown significantly
“I saw an old P&L the other day from our first year, and it’s like the whole year looks like what we do in a month now. It’s a good sign of growth.”
CHALLENGE
Before DocketManager, Breton Print relied on a former MIS solution for approximately five years. In the early days, it served the shop well — accessible, responsive, and a reasonable fit for a business just finding its footing.
Over time, however, limitations began to surface. As Breton Print’s volume and complexity grew, the platform’s job management structure became a friction point. Their former MIS required all items within a job to advance through production together, an all-or-nothing model that didn’t reflect how print shops actually operate. On any given day, five items under one invoice might be in five completely different stages: one in design, one on the large format machine, one in finishing, one ready to ship. Managing that reality within a system that couldn’t accommodate it created unnecessary workarounds.
The workflow queue visibility also fell short. While some functionality existed in the previous platform, it lacked the intuitive, at-a-glance clarity that Andrew and his team needed to stay on top of a busy production floor. As the platform grew its customer base, it also became harder to get the ear of the development team for improvements or product feedback.
The decision to switch was not taken lightly, DocketManager represented a meaningful investment. But the limitations of the previous platform, combined with the team’s growth ambitions, made the case clear.
“With our previous system, it was all or nothing with the job. If I had five items, I had to move all of them into production, all of them into finishing or shipping. And as you can imagine, that makes no sense.”
SOLUTION
Breton Print came on board with DocketManager roughly a year and a half ago. The onboarding was thorough, which he acknowledges is inevitable with a system of this depth. The team has continued to build out their setup over time, working closely with DocketManager’s training and support staff.
Two capabilities stood out immediately as transformative. First, the workflow queue system: the visual clarity of watching a job progress from one queue to the next gave the team a shared, real-time picture of their production floor.
Second, item-level job management. Unlike their previous system, DocketManager allows individual line items within a single order to move through production independently. For a shop handling complex, multi-component jobs, this alone justified the switch.
Beyond the core platform, Breton Print has developed a close working relationship with DocketManager’s support team, who have helped build out custom automated emails and tailored client-facing documents. Andrew describes the team’s response time and precision as genuinely impressive, and notes that he has begun exploring a broader development partnership to help accelerate the launch of web-to-print and live client portals.
BUSINESS IMPACT
DocketManager has become central to how Breton Print operates day to day, and how Andrew thinks about the business going forward. The platform’s automation and workflow capabilities align directly with one of Breton Print’s core value propositions: making sure customers know exactly what to expect, and that nothing falls through the cracks between order intake and delivery.
Andrew describes the print business as, at its heart, a business of logistics, keeping the “hot potato” moving. DocketManager has given the team the tools to do that at a higher volume, with greater transparency and fewer surprises.
Looking ahead, Andrew sees significant room to grow in large format, labels, and artisan packaging. Cape Breton is home to a thriving community of local makers — soap makers, candle artisans, chocolatiers, and more — and Breton Print is increasingly their partner of choice for packaging and labels that match the quality of their products.
With web-to-print capabilities on the horizon and client portals being prepared for launch, Andrew sees DocketManager as the backbone of a more fully automated, customer-facing operation, one that reflects the same care and communication that has always defined Breton Print.
“The workflow queues were huge, just being able to so quickly see a job progressing from one queue to another. And the level at which DocketManager lets you assign control over what someone can and can’t do in terms of moving something is really key for us.”
Andrew Brooks, Owner, Breton Print.
INDOX SERVICES
Tony Cracchiolo owns Indox Services in St. Louis, M.O. For 75+ years the full service digital print provider has been helping local and national companies communicate with their customers through print solutions. The Indox team is made up of 25 employees supporting an annual revenue of $2-3 million.
The Issue
Using a host of non-connected applications, Tony and his team were seeing an inconsistent, slow response to their customers and found it very difficult to understand the metrics of the business. “We were missing details on jobs and making mistakes because we had no way to record the details that were needed” says Tony. He decided to start looking at other options that were web based and one complete software, no plug in modules.
The Decision
For a year, Tony and an IT member searched for a new solution for the business. They were introduced to DocketManager at a trade show and were also looking into a similar product. Ultimately they found DocketManager to be a more complete product and made the investment.
The Implementation
With the assisted setup and onsite training package, the Indox team went live with DocketManager in 6 months. Other than a change to the look and feel, the implementation of a new system had no negative impact on their customers and they have only gotten positive responses. Their favorite part of the system is the ability to input all necessary information to generate accurate work orders.
The Results
With a full year of daily use, their processes have become smoother. Tony and his team are sending quick and accurate quotes and now have a better way to track overall inventory amounts. They have found it takes a new employee approximately 3 months to get up to speed with DocketManager and their daily responsibilities. Tony also attended an in-class training for the online ordering portion and has created a dozen or so portals for his customers.
“LOVE THE PRODUCT CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT UPGRADES. ”
Tony Cracchiolo
INNOVATIVE INK
With 2 locations, one in Millbank, ON, and one in Waterloo, ON, Innovative Ink employs 50 employees and generates $6-7 million in annual revenue. Calvin Frey, President and Founder, started the full service design, web, print, mail, and signage company 11 years ago. He has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders but a strong team at his side, “The goals and vision for the company are almost entirely driven by me”, said Calvin, “I have been blessed with an excellent team around me to help.”
The Issue
With a rapidly growing company, Calvin needed a way to help control the growth curve and have clarity throughout the whole operation. He described his previous process as “A recipe for mistakes” and “Painful”.
The Implementation
Calvin and his team implemented DocketManager in 2013, and as they grew, each new member became a DocketManager user. They utilize almost all the platform has to offer, from customer management, production and scheduling, to reporting and sales strategy. They started using the online ordering system early on and have more recently began creating custom portals for some of their customers.
The Outcome
In the 6 years Innovative Ink has been using DocketManager, they have noticed a significant reduction in order entry times, including limited re-entry touch points from quotes, to orders, to work orders, to invoices. The purchase and transition of a second location was made easier because DocketManager. As the solution is a web-based application, they were able to keep both locations running on one system. They have transitioned numerous customers to online ordering and are finding the online ordering to be a huge growth potential for them.
“I love the fact that you are responsive to what clients are looking for. Keep the support line open and easy to talk to a tech person, that will keep and win clients for you because the larger software companies are almost all a pain to deal with.”
Calvin Frey
WP&B
Willamette Print & Blueprint (WP&B) is an all-inclusive print service provider serving Oregon and Southwest Washington’s design and building community. Established in 1975, WP&B utilizes the latest digital technologies to provide a wide range of reprographics and graphic imaging services. Available services range from electronic document management, color digital imaging, photocopying, CAD plotting, and high-speed large format printing.
The Issue
Utilizing several previous systems and process, David Guzman, Vice President, and his team were struggling with access to information and matching quoting with existing orders. As described by David, “We needed to improve our estimating and CRM systems.” They began looking for a web-based product with online ordering and CRM that also included billing and production management.
The Decision
After 2-3 years of searching, a referral from a current user, and reviewing their options, David and the President, Neil Humphrey, chose DocketManager. They liked the fully integrated online ordering, estimating, production management, inventory control and CRM that DocketManager offers.
The Implementation
The WP&B team took advantage of DocketManager’s assisted setup and onsite training package. Once the DocketManager support team had the site setup, the onsite training team travelled to Oregon to assist David and the team at WP&B with the implementation. Although they needed to be flexible with some of their current processes, they were able to successfully implement the system in 6 months and have now been live for 4.
The Results
After using the product regularly, they have found the reordering very helpful and use it often. The sales and executive team have seen an improvement in the access of information and billing flexibility has become a favorite part of the product. They hope to get the online ordering portion implemented in the near future and expect that it will lead to an increase in revenue.
“You listen and sincerely try to assist us in our business. I appreciate that DM is constantly evolving and that you implement customer suggestions!”
David Guzman
Willamette Print & Blueprint
ALLEN PRINT
Located in Dartmouth, N.S., Allen Print Ltd. is a commercial print shop offering offset, digital and wide format services. Owned by Cameron Struthers, Allen Print has been in business for 75 years, employs 12 employees, and has an annual revenue of approximately $2 million.
The Issue
After implementing an alternative solution, the Allenprint team found it was just not the right fit and couldn’t handle all of their needs. During their search for a new solution, they found DocketManager.
The Implementation
Utilizing the whole Allen Print team, they did their own setup, implemented DocketManager and went live in under 2 months. Using the custom portals they created a web-to-print portal for their customers and even replaced their own website with DocketManager powerful web-to-print platform.
The Results
Over the 4 years they have been live they have seen better control of current paper pricing and workflow efficiency. Being web-based, Cameron has found value in being able to assist his team even when offsite. They have found the online ordering has been a good retaining tool for some of their repeat customers.
