How We Work

Every project is custom-quoted. Quotes are based on the artwork, materials, quantity, and timeline described at the time of the request, and remain valid for 30 days unless we say otherwise in writing. If the scope changes after we quote, whether that is different artwork, a different material, or a different quantity, we requote before proceeding.

We provide a free digital proof for your approval before production. Production begins only after you approve that proof in writing. A reply of "approved" by email is sufficient and is what we rely on.

The proof is the specification. Please read it carefully: spelling, dates, names, numbers, punctuation, layout, and placement are your responsibility once approved. We reproduce what the approved proof shows.

If we make an error, meaning the finished work does not match the proof you approved, we re-make it at our cost. It does not cover changes of mind, or content errors carried through from an approved proof.

Please inspect your order when it reaches you and tell us about any problem within five business days of delivery. That is what lets us correct a run while the materials, settings, and machine time are still available to us. After five business days we consider the order accepted.

A 50% deposit starts production, with the balance due on delivery. First orders and fully-custom work may be prepaid in full. We will always tell you which applies before you commit.

We invoice by email. Invoices can be paid by bank transfer (ACH) or by card through the link on the invoice. Sales tax is applied where required by law.

Deposits are non-refundable once your job has entered production, because materials have been committed and machine time reserved. Before production starts, a deposit is fully refundable.

Custom work is made for you and cannot be resold, so completed orders are final. We do not accept returns or issue refunds on personalized goods. What we do instead is the re-make above, when the work does not match your approved proof.

We are glad to work on items you provide, and we take real care with them. You should know the risks before you send us something you cannot replace.

• Items you supply are marked or printed at your risk. Marking is permanent and cannot be undone.
• Where a sacrificial sample can reasonably be obtained, we test our settings on it before touching your item. Where one cannot, we will tell you so before we start.
• We cannot know the full composition or history of an item we did not source. We are not responsible for damage arising from unknown material inconsistencies, prior repairs, pre-existing flaws, coatings, fillers, or finishes.
• Our liability for any customer-supplied item is limited to the value we add, meaning the service charge for that item. It does not extend to the replacement value of the item itself, or to freight, or to any consequential loss.
• We do not insure customer property. While your item is with us it remains yours to insure against fire, theft, water damage, and other hazards, as it would be anywhere else outside your possession.

If an item is irreplaceable or carries real sentimental weight, tell us. We would rather talk it through first than have you take a risk you did not fully understand.

We may also decline a project on feasibility, material, or safety grounds. Not every material can be marked by every method, and a few cannot be laser-processed safely at all. Where that is the case we will say so and recommend the method that does work, which is often UV printing.

Much of what we work on is natural material or a manufactured blank, so slight variation in grain, color, finish, marking depth, and dimensions is normal between pieces and between production runs. Colors on your screen will also read differently than cured ink or a marked surface in your hand.

Variation of that kind is not a defect. Where an exact match matters to you, tell us before we quote and we will tell you honestly what is achievable.

Turnaround runs from a few business days for small batches up to roughly two weeks for large or complex orders. We confirm your timeline when we quote, and the clock starts at proof approval, not at the original request.

We deliver finished orders across Macomb County and the greater Detroit metro area, and we collect customer-supplied items the same way. Our shop does not receive visitors or offer customer pickup. Orders can also ship, including blind-ship for resellers.

By sending us artwork, you confirm you own it or have permission to use it for the purpose described. This matters most with logos, team marks, licensed characters, and photography. We are not in a position to verify rights, and we rely on your confirmation. If a claim is brought against us over artwork you supplied, that claim is yours to answer.

We may show finished work in our portfolio, gallery, or marketing, unless you ask us not to. Just say so, at any point, and we will not. Personal, memorial, and confidential work is never published without your explicit say-so, whether or not you think to ask.

Production files we create for your job stay ours. Artwork you supply stays yours.

Finished orders. We hold completed work for 30 days from the date we tell you it is ready. Past 30 days we may charge reasonable storage, and past 90 days an order may be treated as abandoned and disposed of, with any deposit forfeit and any balance still owed.

Items you supplied. Your own property is held longer, for six months from the same date, because disposing of something that belongs to you is a different matter from clearing finished stock.

In either case we will make a genuine effort to reach you by email and by phone before anything is disposed of. If storage is becoming a problem we will tell you well before it becomes a charge.

Some things are not ours to control: supplier shortages, carrier delays, power or internet outages, equipment failure, weather, and the rest of that category. Where one of them affects your schedule we will tell you as soon as we know and give you a revised date. It does not create a liability for us beyond that, and it does not change what you have already paid toward materials committed to your job.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Michigan, and any dispute belongs in a Michigan court.

We may update these terms as the shop changes. The version in effect for your order is the one published when you approved your proof, and the effective date at the top of this page tells you which that is. We will not change terms retroactively on work already underway.

If anything here is unclear, or if your project raises a question these terms do not answer, ask us before you commit. We would rather have the conversation up front.

hello@northwindlaser.com for general questions, quotes@northwindlaser.com for anything about a quote or an active order, or (586) 500-7200.