Going paperless at a Dealertrack dealership doesn't mean eliminating every single sheet of paper overnight. It means being intentional about which documents need to be physical and which can be delivered digitally — then building a workflow that makes digital the default and paper the exception.
The Hybrid Approach
The most successful dealership paperless transitions follow a hybrid model. Some documents genuinely need to be physical — a parts Picking Ticket that goes in a bin, a customer receipt handed across the desk for a signature. But the vast majority of documents that get printed today are printed only to be scanned and emailed, or filed in a cabinet that no one opens.
The goal isn't zero paper. The goal is zero unnecessary paper.
Department by Department
Service Department
Service generates the highest print volume at most dealerships. Repair Orders, Tech Hard Cards, warranty documents, and service contracts are printed constantly throughout the day.
- Go digital: Repair Orders sent to customers, warranty submissions, service history lookups, internal RO copies
- Keep physical (sometimes): Tech Hard Cards posted on the vehicle in the shop, customer-signed documents
With a solution like PrintSent, the service department can route Repair Orders to a shared service inbox. When a customer calls asking for a copy, the advisor forwards it from email in 10 seconds instead of printing, scanning, and emailing.
Parts Department
- Go digital: Purchase Orders to vendors, receiving documents, parts history
- Keep physical: Picking Tickets placed in bins (print these to a physical printer in Dealertrack while routing POs through PrintSent)
Sales Department
- Go digital:Deal jacket copies, buyer's order drafts, internal deal worksheets
- Keep physical: Final contracts requiring wet signatures (though even this is shifting to e-signature platforms)
Accounting / Admin
- Go digital: Statements of Account, receipts, financial reports, vendor invoices
- Keep physical:Minimal — most accounting documents are better archived digitally
Running Physical and Digital Side by Side
One of the most practical aspects of a virtual printer solution is that it runs alongside your existing setup. You don't have to choose between physical and digital — you can have both.
In Dealertrack, each printer has its own ID. Your physical Lexmark printers keep their existing IDs. The PrintSent device gets new printer IDs. Staff can choose which "printer" to send to based on whether they need paper or a PDF. Over time, most dealerships find that the digital option becomes the default for everything except a handful of use cases.
Getting Staff Buy-In
The biggest obstacle to going paperless isn't technology — it's habit. Staff who have printed documents for years need a reason to change. Here's what works:
- Show, don't tell: Demo the PDF output side by side with a printed page. When staff see that the PDF is identical to the print, resistance drops significantly.
- Start with one department: Roll out to service first (highest volume, biggest time savings), let them evangelize to the rest of the dealership.
- Keep it optional initially:Don't remove physical printers right away. Let staff experience the convenience of digital delivery before taking away the safety net.
- Highlight the time savings: When a service advisor realizes they can forward a PDF in 10 seconds instead of the 5-minute print-scan-email cycle, adoption happens naturally.
Getting Started
The easiest way to start going paperless with Dealertrack is to add a virtual printer that captures print jobs and delivers them as PDFs. Learn how PrintSent works or view pricing to see if it's a fit for your dealership.