Auto Shops: Print Work Orders Automatically from Email
It's 7:45 AM. The service lane is already three cars deep.
Your phone buzzes. Online appointment. Another one. And another.
You're supposed to print these, but there's a customer waiting, a tech asking about parts, and the coffee hasn't kicked in.
By 10 AM, you've got 8 unprinted appointments buried in email.
Table of Contents
- The Service Writer's Printing Problem
- Why Online Appointments Make It Worse
- Auto-Print Fixes the Workflow
- How It Works for Auto Shops
- Real Shop Use Cases
- The Time Math
- TL;DR
The Service Writer's Printing Problem
Service writers are air traffic controllers. Customers. Techs. Parts. Phones.
Printing is supposed to be simple. But every print job means:
- Stop talking to the customer
- Walk to the computer
- Find the email
- Download the attachment
- Hit print
- Walk to the printer
- Bring it back
That's 2 minutes per print job. Times 30+ appointments a day?
An hour of your day. Just printing.
Why Online Appointments Make It Worse
Modern shops use online scheduling. Tekmetric, Shop-Ware, Mitchell 1, dealer DMS systems.
Great for customers. More work for service writers.
Every online appointment sends an email. Every email needs to become a work order. Eventually.
But "eventually" means a pile-up. And pile-ups mean:
- Customers waiting while you print their appointment
- Techs waiting for work orders
- Mistakes when things get missed
Email notification isn't the problem. Manual printing is the problem.
Auto-Print Fixes the Workflow
With AutoPrintEmail:
- Customer books appointment online
- System sends confirmation email
- Work order prints automatically at the service desk
- Paper is waiting before the customer even arrives
No clicking. No walking. No remembering.
The appointment exists in the physical world the moment it's booked.
How It Works for Auto Shops
- Download AutoPrintEmail — runs on Mac, Windows, or Linux
- Connect your shop email — Gmail, Outlook, or IMAP
- Create filters for your appointment system:
from:notifications@tekmetric.comfrom:noreply@shop-ware.comfrom:*@dealer-dms.com
- Point to your service desk printer
- Let it run
Every appointment confirmation prints automatically. Your service writers can focus on customers instead of clicking "print."
Real Shop Use Cases
🔧 The Service Lane Flow
One shop prints appointment confirmations to a tray at the service desk. As customers pull in, advisors grab the matching paper. Check-in takes 30 seconds.
📋 The Tech Dispatch Board
Another shop prints work orders directly to the dispatch area. Techs grab their next job without waiting for anyone to print it.
🗂️ The Multi-Bay System
A larger shop routes different job types to different printers. Oil changes go to the quick lane printer. Major repairs go to the main bay.
⚡ The Walk-In Backup
Even shops with tablets use auto-print as a backup. If the tablet dies, the paper trail is already there.
The Time Math
Let's say you print 30 work orders a day. Manually, that's about 2 minutes each.
30 work orders × 2 minutes = 60 minutes/day
That's 5 hours a week. 250+ hours a year.
With AutoPrintEmail:
30 work orders × 0 minutes = 0 minutes/day
Papers appear. You grab them. Done.
At $99 one-time, the ROI is immediate. One day of saved time pays for the software. The rest is profit.
TL;DR
Service writers don't have time to print. But work orders need to exist on paper.
AutoPrintEmail prints appointment confirmations and work orders automatically — the moment they're booked.
- Works with Tekmetric, Shop-Ware, Mitchell 1, dealer DMS
- Prints to any service desk printer
- Zero manual effort
Just $99 for lifetime access. See our solutions page for more industry workflows, or check out the complete automation guide.
Customers book online.
Your printer keeps up.
Start Printing Your Emails Today
Join thousands of users who have reduced their screen time while staying connected.
Local printing. Your emails are never sent to our servers.
Works on Windows, Mac, and web browsers
No need to open your browser or email client to manually print your emails.