Customer stories


Reno Typographers

Reno Typographers and FileMaker 4.0: A Job Well-done

Reno Typographers first opened its doors in Reno, Nev. in 1981 and offered traditional typesetting. As it grew it embraced the rapid technological changes in the pre-press industry, and added scanning, color separation and digital printing to its services.

When Reno Typographers was a smaller company, it was acceptable to manage job traffic by hand. If a customer called to check the status of a job, it had to be physically located in the shop to check the notes on the job ticket. As Reno Type grew, it became obvious that they needed a more advanced system for balancing workloads, managing quotes and tracking jobs.

Before using FileMaker, Marcel Levy, IT manager for Reno Type, was a skeptic. 'My background is in UNIX and Linux, so naturally I was leaning toward a more complex and expensive system.' Marcel was immediately impressed with FileMaker's ease-of-use and the minimal overhead requirements it placed on their system. 'We couldn't afford the training costs for a more complicated solution,' said Marcel. 'We were a Mac-based shop with plans to migrate to the Web. We needed a solution that suited our needs and could carry us into the future -- FileMaker Pro was the right choice.'

A little more than three years ago, Reno Type installed the first version of a job tracking system, powered by FileMaker Pro. The system has grown in functionality as Reno Type has grown in size. Today, using FileMaker Pro, the system creates a ticket for each job that is active in the shop. As work on a specific job is completed, the FileMaker Pro job record is updated accordingly.

Reno Type took FileMaker a step further and web-enabled the database. Customers can access the FileMaker customer database via the Web to obtain the current status of a particular job. Customers can also submit new jobs via the Web. Smart web forms only require customers to enter information once. And once a client is in the FileMaker database, their information is automatically recalled when they log on. 'Customers are extremely happy with the new web-enabled capabilities we‚ve been able to add with FileMaker Pro,' added Marcel. 'We are known for our quick customer response and are proud of our coveted reputation as the fastest shop in town.'

The system has been also been automated to send a 'status of shop' e-mail to Reno Type management. 'Not only is it simpler for customers to access job information,' Marcel explained. 'But employees and management also have greater access to information, and making it much easier to manage and balance everybody's workload.'

Reno Type has quadrupled its revenues in the past 10 years. About 25 percent of their total workload is generated from the Web. 'I was pleasantly surprised at how ultimately robust and reliable FileMaker Pro proved to be,' concluded Marcel. 'The system has definitely exceeded my initial expectations. FileMaker handles our needs perfectly.'



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:



Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • Reno Typographers has grown from offering traditional typesetting services to offering high-tech services such as scanning, color separation and digital printing. Needing a job-tracking solution that would keep up with their growth, Reno chose FileMaker Pro. FileMaker Pro's ease-of-use saves Reno training costs, and its Web-publishing capability allows customers to check job status online.
Industry
  • Creative Markets
  • Information Technology
  • Printing/Publishing