Hi Stewart,
Unfortunately, I don't make cabinets on a regular basis anymore. I and my wife own Cabinet Pro, software for Cabinet & Door manufacturers. But all day, every day, I work with some of the most gifted cabinet makers in this industry and am blessed with our customers being friends and partners a lot more than they are "customers".
Those who make face frame cabinets and blind dado their parts with their CNC machines do so quickly, efficiently, and accurately. And yes, staples are commonly used in place of clamps in order to hold the tenon of one part tightly into the mortise of another part until the glue dries.
Also, those customers who dado their tops, bottoms, and sides into the back of their face frames have their face face frames machined on their CNC. They HAVE TO, in order to ensure everything lines up correctly!! Cabinet Pro allows the speed of the spindle to be increased or decreased automatically based upon the material that is being used. So when lumber is being machined the speed of the spindle along the X-Y plane is automatically decreased in order to avoid splintering. The ROTATIONAL speed is kept high to avoid burning.
If you are using 1/4" material for backs, then there is no need for a blind dado. A full 1/4" dado will do. But if you are using 5/8" or 3/4" material, then you may want to consider a blind dado of 5/16" or 3/8" rather than a full dado.
Hope this helps.