Questions We Actually Get Asked

We're a small workshop in the Austin area. We do full-color UV printing, laser engraving (regular, color on metal, and 3D inside crystal), UV cold processing, and laser cutting. One piece is fine, and we also run repeat batches.

Our workshop is in Dripping Springs, about 25 minutes west of downtown Austin. We work with customers across the Austin metro and ship anywhere in the USA. The street address is on our contact page.

Both. A single personalized gift and a company batch order get the same personal reply.

Send the quote form with your idea, the material, the quantity and any files you have. A sketch is fine. Every quote comes back with a dollar number or a range, never a "we'll get back to you on price".

You get a personal reply, usually within 24 hours.

Yes, by appointment. We're appointment-only so we're not in the middle of a job when you arrive. Message us first and we'll set a time for drop-off or pickup.

Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, by appointment.

No. One piece is fine. Below about 10 identical items the per-piece price is higher, because setup is a fixed cost, but we'll still take the job.

Yes. Every service page and every "who we help" page shows photos of real work from our shop, not stock images.

Maker Print Lab is operated by GreenSprout Hub LLC. Baris runs the workshop and answers the quote requests himself.

Yes. On request we use rounded corners, larger single-piece shapes, natural unfinished faces or non-toxic finishes, and no small loose parts. We've made children's research and gifting materials this way.

Wood (birch and other plywood, maple, walnut, bamboo, MDF, chipboard), acrylic, leather, cork, felt and fabric, paper and cardstock. Thin stainless steel is cut on our fiber laser.

Our 80W CO₂ laser (xTool P3) cuts wood up to about 20mm and acrylic up to about 25mm.

36 × 18 in (915 × 458 mm) on the CO₂ laser. Longer pieces are possible with the conveyor.

Yes. It's one of our most common materials: signs, table numbers, layered awards and display parts. We also work with acrylic you supply.

Yes. We use low-knot, laser-safe plywood without exterior-grade glues, plus hardwoods like maple and walnut, bamboo, MDF and chipboard.

Thin metal, yes. Our fiber laser handles 304 stainless steel up to 2mm. Send the metal type and thickness and we'll confirm.

Yes. Paper, cardstock and chipboard cut on the laser, and we also have a blade cutter for paper and board.

Yes. Leather and felt cut with clean, sealed edges, which is why patches, keychains, coasters and bag tags work well.

We never put PVC or vinyl under a laser. Heating it releases chlorine gas, which is dangerous to breathe and damages the machine. If you're not sure what your material is, ask us first. For items like that, UV printing is often the safe alternative.

Tolerances go down to about 0.1 mm, and nesting stays repeatable across batches. Very fine openings still need enough width to survive handling, so we'll flag anything too delicate.

Yes. SVG, DXF, AI, PDF and EPS all work for cut lines.

Usually. Send a photo, and the sample itself if you can, and we'll match material, thickness and font as closely as the material allows.

Cutting goes all the way through to make a shape. Engraving marks or removes the surface to add text, a logo or an image. Many jobs do both in one run.

Anything from a light surface mark to deep relief in hardwoods like maple and walnut. Depth depends on the material, so tell us the look you want and we'll test it.

Yes. Photo engraving and handwriting reproduction are regular work for us.

Yes. Our fiber laser marks stainless steel, brass, aluminum and titanium permanently. The mark is in the surface, so it holds up outdoors.

Yes. Our UV cold laser marks glass without heat damage and leaves a frosted, high-contrast mark.

Yes. Bottles, tumblers and other drinkware can be laser marked or UV printed.

Vector (SVG, AI, PDF, EPS) is best for text and logos. For photos, send a high-resolution PNG or JPG, ideally 300 DPI at the final size.

Yes. Our MOPA fiber laser produces 100+ color tones on stainless steel and titanium with no ink at all. We make color test cards before a production run.

A MOPA fiber laser changes the oxide layer on the metal's surface, which shows up as color. Nothing is printed or coated, so it can't peel, and it's dishwasher and outdoor safe.

Yes. Serialized text and QR codes are standard, including very small text on plates.

Yes. Deep relief engraving works best in hardwoods like maple, walnut and olive wood.

Yes. Mention it's double-sided in your quote request so we plan the alignment of the second side.

Yes. We engrave photos, logos and 3D models inside solid K9 crystal. It's the most unusual thing we make.

The laser focuses inside the crystal instead of on the surface and creates thousands of tiny points that form a 3D image. Nothing touches the outside, so the block stays clear and polished.

Photos, portraits, pets, logos, text and 3D models.

Yes. We handle the photo-to-3D conversion. A good phone photo is usually enough.

Blocks, cubes, hearts and keychains. Our most common size is a 2 × 2 × 3.5 in K9 crystal at $40–$80 each. LED bases that light the image are available.

Yes. Logos and text can go in on their own or alongside a photo.

No. The image sits inside the glass, so handling and cleaning the surface can't rub it off.

Very fine. The xTool F2 Ultra UV laser we use has a spot size under 10 microns.

Yes. Awards, retirements, weddings and memorial keepsakes are the most common uses.

Send your photo or logo through the quote form and tell us the size, quantity and whether you want an LED base. You'll see a proof before anything is engraved.

Our flatbed printers put full-color ink straight onto your material and cure it instantly with UV light. No transfer, no heat press, no peeling.

Wood, acrylic, leather, glass, stone, ceramic, metal and plastic. Flat and gently curved surfaces print best.

Yes, and the grain can show through the image.

Yes. We lay a white under-base so colors stay accurate on black, navy and stainless surfaces.

Yes. Acrylic can also be printed in layers for backlit pieces.

Yes. Printed aluminum with the right clear coat is our build for outdoor panels.

Yes, and it's usually the cheapest route. Ship them or drop them off and we'll run a test piece first. If the material won't take the print cleanly, we'll tell you before going further.

13 × 16.5 in in a single pass. Larger wall art and panels are produced as tiled or multi-panel sets, and we plan the seams with you.

The cured ink bonds to the surface instead of sitting on top like a sticker. It resists scratching, water, fading and daily wiping. For the harshest uses we recommend engraving instead.

Yes. Registered print-then-cut is one job on our side, not two orders. It's how we make shaped magnets, puzzles, game pieces and signs, and we can add registration marks for your own cutter.

Yes. We can build up raised layers of ink for a textured, embossed feel.

Birch, maple, walnut, bamboo, chipboard, laser-grade plywood and MDF.

Usually. Send the color name or a link to the material you have in mind and we'll confirm availability before quoting.

Yes. We source common wood, acrylic and metal blanks as part of a job.

Yes. Ship them or drop them off. For pieces you made yourself, we test on a scrap or a hidden area first.

Yes. Engraving-only pricing applies when you supply the blank, such as brass coins or acrylic sheets.

Low-knot plywood made without exterior-grade glues, so it cuts cleanly and safely.

Yes. Cork bottoms on coasters and similar pieces are a small add-on. Ask when you request your quote.

Yes, and it's free. For example: acrylic for stencils that see repeated paint, 3mm acrylic for premium game tiles, 3–6mm birch or MDF for boards. Tell us how the piece will be used.

SVG, AI, PDF, EPS and DXF for vector work, and PNG or JPG for images. You can upload them right on the quote form.

For cut lines, yes. For printed artwork, a high-resolution PNG or JPG works too. If you only have a sketch or an image, we can convert it.

Yes. We regularly turn designs into SVG cut lines.

Yes. We give design guidance for free, like merging delicate parts so they don't break, adding bridges so stencil islands stay in place, or using one master cut pattern with different text per piece.

Small adjustments are free. Larger design work is $25 for 15 minutes, $50 for 30 minutes or $100 for an hour.

Yes. Simple logo color changes, like reversing a logo or making it single-color, are included in setup, and you'll see a mockup first.

300 DPI at final size for anything seen up close. 150 DPI is fine for large pieces viewed from a distance.

Yes. We save your artwork and machine settings, so reorders match the last batch and skip setup. That also makes small replacement runs practical.

Always. You get a design proof before anything is cut. For reclaimed or character-wood signs, we also send a photo of the actual board before we build.

Yes, before we see anything sensitive. Just mention it in your quote request.

By size, material, quantity and how dense the artwork is. Most small batch jobs land between $30 and $300. When we haven't seen your artwork yet, we quote a range, for example $30 for lighter artwork up to $60 for denser artwork.

Setup runs $25 to $100 when your file is ready to go. If I also need to design or rework the artwork, design plus setup runs $50 to $300. Reorders skip setup entirely.

Yes. Production discounts run from 10% to 30%, stepping up at 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 pieces. The instant estimator shows how the per-piece price drops.

No minimum order. Most small jobs start around $30.

When your quote is ready, a Square payment link comes in the same message as the price, so there's no separate invoice to chase.

Samples are a single unit of your real design, not a generic demo. They run from $75 for UV wall art up to $250 for a large dimensional reclaimed-wood sign. For smaller items, a single approval piece before the full run is normal.

Yes, always, if the job goes ahead. Design, prototyping and 1–5 test runs usually land in the $50–$100 range for up to two hours of studio time.

That's fine. One-off pieces are regular work. The per-piece price is simply higher than in a batch, and we'll tell you if a different material saves you money.

Yes. Every quote has a dollar number or range, and once we've seen your artwork, you get a firm price before you pay.

3–5 business days for a new design after artwork approval, and 1–3 days for a repeat of the same design. Samples and test cards take 2–3 days. Larger batches and custom dimensional signs can take 1–2 weeks.

Often, yes. Rush engraving jobs like plaques and coins can turn in 24–48 hours, depending on the queue. Tell us your deadline in the quote request.

$15 flat rate anywhere in the USA. Oversized or bulk orders may vary. Local pickup is free.

We ship from our workshop in the Austin area to anywhere in the USA, including straight to a jobsite. Large panels can be crated.

Yes. Pickup at our Dripping Springs workshop is free, by appointment.

Yes. We blind-ship under your brand, with no Maker Print Lab markings on the package.

Yes. Every shipped order has tracking.

Yes, the whole metro: Austin, Bee Cave, Lakeway, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown, Buda, Kyle, San Marcos and Dripping Springs. Buda and Kyle are about 30 minutes away, and downtown Austin about 25.

Yes, by appointment. Many local customers drop blanks off one day and pick up the finished work a few days later.

Yes. We can often meet in Bee Cave, or you can pick up at the workshop in Dripping Springs.

No, we're appointment-only. Send a message first and we'll set a time.

We have a portable laser for on-site work. Tell us the date and what you'd like made.

Yes. As an Official xTool Demo Host we run live demos, 1-on-1 and group training, and virtual sessions.

Yes. Laser cutter access is $70 an hour, UV printer access is $90 an hour, and full studio access is $240 a day.

Yes. We produce behind your brand with neutral or your own packaging and inserts, and we never contact your customers.

Yes. There's no minimum order, and we ship directly to your customers under your brand. Desk signs start at $24, word planks at $16, and matching stands at $5.

Yes. Your setup is saved, so repeat batches match and go straight into the queue. We can quote a standing arrangement.

Yes. Orders with a different name, pet or layout every time are normal for us.

Yes. Volume partners get a rate card instead of per-job pricing. Send us your catalog and expected volume.

Yes. A 50-piece order can be 10 designs at 5 each. Each new design adds a small setup step, not a whole new minimum.

Yes. We run a test piece so you can approve color, depth and edge finish in hand before the batch.

No. No exclusivity is required.

Yes, in acrylic or wood, cut and printed or engraved to match your theme.

Yes. Keychains, coasters, magnets, engraved bottles and printed ornaments are all standard work.

Yes. Glass is marked with our UV cold laser for a clean, frosted look.

Yes. Send your fonts or design file, and the color name or a link to the acrylic you want, and we'll confirm before quoting.

Two to three weeks is comfortable. Tell us your date in the request and we'll give you an honest yes or no.

Yes, cut from acrylic or wood.

Yes. 3D crystal awards, engraved plates, acrylic awards and color-marked metal. Single awards and full sets are both welcome.

Yes. Bottles, coolers, notebooks, keychains and logo plates, printed or engraved so the logo is permanent.

Yes. Permanent labels and asset marking on equipment are regular work.

Yes. Onboarding kits, team gifts and client leave-behinds. For orders over about 25 units, we make one approval sample on the real item first.

Yes. Start with a few test pieces, then scale into repeat batches with the same setup. Volumes into the thousands are quoted per project.

No. As a business, we can't reprint trademarked or copyrighted artwork we don't have rights to. If you make your own original designs, we're happy to produce them.

Not without permission from the rights holder. Original designs in the same spirit are fine.

Then we can make it. Mention it in your quote request.