Most of the time a quote comes back 'wrong', the brief was thin. Not dishonest. Thin. A logo file and 'we need some signs' can mean a desk plate or a four-metre lobby wall. Here is what we actually need to give you a number you can take to a client or a board.
Process guides · 2026-08-24 · 6 min read
A vector file cuts. AI, DXF, PDF with real outlines. A PNG from WhatsApp is a picture of a logo. We can redraw it, and we will, but that is a design hour and a chance for a curve to go wrong. If your agency has the master file, get that. If they will not release it, say so. We will work from what we have and send a proof before we cut.
Thickness. Quantity. Finish on the edge. Print or paint or engraving. And whether we install. A 5mm desk sign and a 15mm reception set are not the same job. Ten units and a hundred are not the same job. If you do not know the thickness, tell us where it lives and we will pick it. Guessing 3mm on a floor-standing piece is how things flex on day one.
A wall, a counter, a mall bulkhead, a hotel hostess stand. Lighting, colour of the stone, sockets, nearby fire sprinklers. We quote mounting from a photo. Without it, the quote is the object only, and the install is a second conversation you did not budget. For offices and malls, also send the access rules if you have them. Night work is normal. Surprise night work is expensive.
Will you cut this in-house? Can I visit the workshop? What grade of sheet, cast or extruded? Who installs, you or a sub? What happens if a piece is damaged in the van? Can you hold the CAD for reorders? A workshop in Al Quoz that says yes to those is a workshop. A trading company that says yes and then outsources is how lead times slip by a week and nobody can say why.
Same working day: a price band or a firm number, a lead time, and one or two questions that show they read the brief. If the reply is only 'how many do you need' they did not look at the drawing. We would rather ask you about the wall than send a number that falls apart on site.
Procurement, project managers, agency producers, and anyone who has been burned by a cheap first quote. If you are briefing more than one supplier, send all of them the same pack. Then you are comparing workshops, not comparing who guessed.
Vector file, thickness or use, quantity, finish, and a photo of the place it will live. That pack gets you a real quote in a day. Anything thinner gets you a number that moves.
Questions about your own project? Talk to our Dubai workshop, we answer the same working day.
A vector logo or drawing, the size, the quantity, where it will sit, and a photo of the site. Thickness and finish if you know them. If you do not, say what it is for and we will spec it.
Yes. We are in Al Quoz Industrial Area 3. If a supplier will not let you see the machines, they are probably not the ones cutting your job.
Sheet grade, thickness, edge finish, print method, and whether install is included. Ask each supplier to state those five things on the quote. Then the numbers mean the same thing.
No. One prototype is a normal first job. The unit price drops once the jig exists, which is why a 20-unit run and a one-off should not be compared on price alone.
Pick your products, add a note, and our team replies the same working day.