Machine embroidery is an art for some, while a fun hobby for others. While it looks fun and colorful, there is also a technical part in the process of creating these designs. Machine embroidery demands an in-depth understanding of digital machine embroidery files and the specific machines that supports them. To produce a digital embroidery design, you must upload your design into the machine as your first step. But what kind of file is this? What format are you going to choose for this file and why choosing the right one is necessary?
Your favourite embroidery design has to be saved in a specific file format before being stitched out by any embroidery machine. Every specific brand of embroidery machine requires different formats of files to process. Let us simplify it for you. Just as a Word file has different formats like .docx and pdf. Your embroidery file also comes in many file formats. Every embroidery machine has its format and may or may not process another’s format. Let’s find out some commonly used embroidery machines and their desired type of file formats.
What are the Types of Machine Embroidery and File Formats?
You have to have a great command over the types of embroidery machines to make proper file formats for them accordingly. If you feel dizzy looking at these types or formats, you can always go for any expert applique digitizing services in your region. Following is the list of some of the common machines with their valid formats:
- Tajima (*.DST)
- Deco, Brother, Baby Lock (*.PEC)
- Hiraoka DAT (*.DAT)
- Hiraoka VEP (*.VEP)
- Melco (*.EXP)
- Melco (*.CND)
What are the Key Functions of Embroidery Files?
A machine embroidery file serves the purpose of providing a set of instructions to the embroidery machine to work accordingly to produce a design successfully. These files are loaded with different types of information required for designing purposes. It provides instructions to the machines, like, how many and which colors to pick and when to switch those colors. It is provided with the amount of area required to cover with thread, the desired pattern, and the size and width of each stitch.
How Many Types of Embroidery File Formats Are There?
Numerous embroidery file formats are available, and all of them fall into three main categories. Let’s discuss them.
- Native File Format
The first step in transforming an embroidery design into a digital image is creating a blueprint type of design. This initial design serves as a guide for the final product. The embroidery machine cannot read this design. Only the digitizing software is capable of interpreting this type of design.
- Expanded File Formats
Enhanced file formats for embroidery software are now offered with the .dst or .esp extension. These formats are compatible with embroidery machines, providing an upgrade from the native file. Most machines can read either of these file formats for commercial or domestic use.
The beauty of using these file formats is that the design instructions are followed precisely as intended without making any mess. This ensures that the default settings, such as color selection, are utilized by both the machine and the machine embroidery digitizing software. When setting up the machine to work with these file formats, it is crucial to exercise extra caution. The machine must be threaded according to the recognized default setting for a specific needle color. This will ensure that the embroidery design is executed flawlessly, producing an exceptional final product.
- Machine File Formats
This article sheds light on the machine file format, a specialized type of embroidery file format exclusively developed for embroidery machines. However, it’s important to note that not all embroidery machines are compatible with these formats, and each file format is distinct to specific brands.
Let’s consider the example of .pes and .jef machine file formats. For instance, Brother Machines and machines produced by Brother for other companies like Baby Lock use the .pes format, while Janome machines solely utilize the .jef format.
How To Work With Digitizing Machine Embroidery Designs?
There are situations when digitized designs become a necessity despite having a variety of ready-to-made embroidery designs to choose from. You are limited to picking the designs available in the market without digitizing. But scenarios requiring customized designs, such as brand logos
You will need to work with embroidery digitizing software. If you don’t know how to operate this software, you should opt for any digitizing service provider to do it for you. Digitalizing a design from a platform may cost anywhere between $10 -$30, depending on how intricate your design was.
Can You Install Different Embroidery File Formats to Your Machine?
Sadly, it’s not possible. File formats are not transferable to embroidery machines. You have to stick to and work with the format that was built into your embroidery machine. If the manufacturer made it compatible with a .pes file format, it will remain the same.
Trying to run a .jef file on a machine that can only process with a .pes file is useless and not recommended to try. Try to understand it like asking a math PhD scholar something about fashion design. Although he is highly qualified, since his expertise and knowledge belong to a totally different realm, it would be a useless conversation. A fashion designer would be able to carry this topic more gracefully.
Your embroidery files are also a kind of software, so only their format-compatible machines will be able to interpret them correctly. If you try to force your embroidery machine to produce an intricate embroidery design with the wrong format file, it will only provide you with an error.
Is It Possible To Convert Your Existing File Format Into Another?
Thankfully, there is a solution to this problem of yours. Some excellent cheap and even free tools are available to help you convert your current machine embroidery file from one format to a different one. There are various guides available on the internet to help you understand the process of converting machine embroidery file formats.
But there is a downside to converting file format types. There are chances of losing some information throughout the process of converting. Try to understand how Google translates sometimes produces incomplete translations and fails to pick up every detail. If we enter a prompt in Google Translate in our native language to translate it into English or French, chances are it wouldn’t be completely accurate.
Following are some tips to consider while converting file formats:
- It is advised to convert a native file format into a machine file format for optimum results.
- Color information will get lost if converting an expanded file format into a machine file format.
- Converting between machine file formats can often result in poor-quality designs.
Conclusion
Throughout this article, we talked about the importance and existence of embroidery machine file formats. We also explained the key functions of embroidery files and then we informed you about how many types of file formats are there. We also discussed the process of working with Digitizing Machine Embroidery Designs and tried to answer some of your queries. We hope this article proves to increase your knowledge about machine embroidery file formats.
