Q. What is digitizing?

A. Digitizing is the digital input to the embroidery software to create the embroidery stitches. The digitizer takes the artwork and plots the type of stitch, direction of the stitch and the various elements of the design either using a digitizing tablet or on screen. The embroidery software creates the stitches and outputs the stitches to a disk or directly to the embroidery machine. Sound simple? Read on….

Q. What is Digitizing? Why can't I just scan in a design and have it instantly digitized?

A. Digitizing is the process by which we program the actions of the embroidery machine. We are not just creating artwork, we are programming machine movements and functions. The digitizer must understand that the way the design is digitized controls whether there will be a production problem when the design is run on the embroidery machine or not.

The digitizer programs needle penetrations, thread trims, color changes, and the order the sections sew in, not to mention the parameters and direction the threads lie on the material. This is how the three dimensional look is created. If they aren't attentive to what they create, the results could mean, short stitches which cause thread breaks, long stitches slow the machine down, high density will make the design "bullet proof", and too many thread trims means a much longer run time......all which cost time and money.

Each new design brings about a new combination of challenges. Nevertheless, each of these production problems can be easily solved if you understand how an embroidery machine works, it's tolerances, and how to manipulate them. The WINgs embroidery software makes good digitizing easier, by automating many of the necessities needed for production efficiency. WINgs embroidery software was "developed by actual embroiderers for embroiderers", with all the constants of digitizing built into the system, there is less time worrying about machine functions and more time to play and be creative with your design. Happy digitizing!

Q. How small can embroidered lettering be?

A. Lettering should be no smaller than 3/16 of an inch on lower-case characters.

Q. What is an appropriate size for embroidery on caps and shirts?

A. For caps, designs should be approximately 2.5 inches in height; for shirts no more than 4.0 inches in width.

Q. What happens if I am not satisfied with my final digitized design/logo?

A. If the e-mailed image of your design is not satisfactory, a sewn sample will be forwarded for approval. Any necessary changes will be done after you have reviewed the sample.

Q. How much detail can be achieved in my design?

A The detail of each embroidered design is determined by the requested size of the design/logo. Simplifying detail in your design results in a better finished embroidery.