What this is
No file is ever quite cutter-ready first time. Designers send PDFs full of fills instead of outlines. Sketches arrive as JPGs. CAD exports come out with duplicate lines and stray construction marks. We see all of it, every week. File prep is the service that turns whatever you've got into something the machine can read.
The most common fixes are: converting text to outlines so we don't need to chase the same font; joining open paths into closed cut shapes; removing duplicate or overlapping lines so the laser doesn't cut the same edge twice; sorting layers so we know what gets cut, engraved, or drilled; and kerf-compensating where the cut needs to land inside or outside the drawn line for fitment.
For sketches-on-paper or images-of-existing-parts, file prep extends to drafting the part from scratch in vector format. Hand us a hand sketch with dimensions, or a photo of an existing piece against a ruler, and we'll draft the file then cut to it. For trade customers with consistent part shapes, we'll save the file in your trade account library for next time.
File prep is charged as a flat fee, scaled to complexity. Simple cleanups (single shape, minor fixes) are a small flat amount. Multi-part files, drafting from sketches, or kerf-compensated parts cost more. We confirm the fee on the quote before doing the work — no surprise charges.