Calgary Custom Photo Services builds beyond the basics with dakis

Where they started

CCPS began with a simple setup and a hard limit: Nigel could take passport photos and scan images, but he had no way to print. dakis solved that first problem by connecting him to another lab that could print his orders. Customers dropped off work and picked it up days later, with the production handled behind the scenes. As the business grew, Nigel bought his own equipment and brought printing in-house.

From there it grew piece by piece: a kiosk, then online ordering, a website, photo gallery software, and the tools to move orders through production. Each addition came as the need arose, and CCPS learned the platform as it went.

“I have got no partnership that's stronger.”

Bringing it together

CCPS began with a simple setup and a hard limit: Nigel could take passport photos and scan images, but he had no way to print. dakis solved that first problem by connecting him to another lab that could print his orders. Customers dropped off work and picked it up days later, with the production handled behind the scenes. As the business grew, Nigel bought his own equipment and brought printing in-house.

From there it grew piece by piece: a kiosk, then online ordering, a website, photo gallery software, and the tools to move orders through production. Each addition came as the need arose, and CCPS learned the platform as it went.

“It's as simple as click and print. It eliminates three other steps that never have to happen.”

Key results

The order automation is the part Nigel relies on daily. Through dakis' Lab Printing Software, files route to the right store and the right printer on their own. A wide-format order lands where it needs to be printed without anyone moving it by hand. For an operation running two locations and specialty equipment, routing removes steps at every order.

The dakis-managed Google services have pushed CCPS's reach well past Calgary. The site ranks well enough that customers find it from across the country, sending scanning and digitizing work from other provinces. One customer from Florida found CCPS while looking for someone to digitize their Montréal relative's slides.

“Somebody calling me from Vancouver Island, it's not because they walked by my shop.”

What Nigel values most is the people behind the tools. The team knows his history and his equipment, and they take on the work he would otherwise have to hire for.

“The support I get is unmatched.”

What's next

Nigel is always looking for the next step to automate. Ten minutes saved per work order, across a thousand work orders a year, is time that goes straight back into the custom work CCPS is known for.

He is also working on reaching customers in other provinces with the photo books and specialty products CCPS already makes.

As ever, the plan is to keep building on what the platform can do. dakis is the system he keeps shaping to fit.