Posted by What is digitizing and logo digitization?
On a wider picture, digitizing is a process of converting any source of information into a digital form. That source can be anything and when we say it can be anything, we mean any or everything. Be it images, text, or even music. But when we talk about logo digitizing, it solely consists of recasting your existing logo, or a brand icon into a stitch file just so it can be fetched to the fabric later on for embroidery purposes.
As everyone knows a logo is what represents your brand and you should make sure that this, by every means, is the best thing for promoting your brand. Now that you know what logo digitization is, it’s about time to move to the step-by-step guide to digitizing your brand identity.
How to Digitize a Logo for Embroidery in 8 steps?
However it shouldn’t be a big deal since we assume, many of you might have an idea about the Bespoke Patches. Because those patches are also digitized except for some, as you know we have a variety of them in the markets today. Many of them are considered stick patches but the process of producing them is almost the same.
Moving on, if you want the perfect look for your brand logo at a low cost as compared to the industry rates, pay attention to what we are about to say. If you follow these eight steps, you are surely going to create something great. In addition, you can take help too, to learn how to digitize embroidery designs.
- Upload your file to the software
The very first thing you need to do is to upload the file, logo, or design you want to digitize for embroidery. The chosen format should be supported by the embroidery machine. Once you upload the file, remove or crop blank spaces out that seem unnecessary. And remember that, keep it slow because there are no hard and fast rules for doing it. Now that the basic is done, jump into the next step which is called setting the angles right.
- Set its angle
No matter what you do, be it trigonometry, geometry, or architecture. One thing that needs to be in focus is the angle! You have to set all the angles right so that when the machine starts sewing, it doesn’t go out of the way. The angles you set can be anything from vertical to horizontal to diagonal. If you need a good-looking design you should try different angles for various parts of the design. It may result in an interesting texture and design with high contrast possibilities. You can find almost any sort of embroidered patches in UK.
It is not hidden from the world that London played a prominent role in the production of embroidered patches. The term came to light during WWII and since then it’s getting advanced.
- Underlay you want
Since you have set the angle and cropped out all those unnecessary corners, finally the time has come when you need to select the stitch. And before doing that, you should know that there are several types of stitches and each one of them has its style and charm. But that is not it, functionality also matters. You might have come across those iron-on logo patches in the UK, the one with not-so-good stitching quality. Plus, some of them are not even washable. If you wash them by mistake, The threads are broken due to low-quality stitches. So choose your underlay wisely, you want the stitch to be durable, right? However, there are many stitches for embroidery but when it comes to machine embroidery, there are three types of stitches that are most commonly used worldwide, and the following are those stitches;
- Straight
The first one is a straight stitch which is quite common and you use it on daily bases. Consider it a foundational stitch because, in this type of stitch, the machine usually produces repeated straight lines to compose a pattern. It’s easy to create thick lines using a straight stitch several times. The good thing about straight stitch is that it is not reserved to produce straight lines only, but you can also create curves with it. Apart from that, it is also used for detailed work, outlining, and shading.
- Satin
Then comes satin stitch, this one is for those who want a text to be embroidered. Satin stitches aren’t difficult and when a machine has to do everything, you shouldn’t be worried about it. Besides, it is widely used to digitize a logo for embroidery. And if you are looking for perfect shiny edges and a complete look for your logo then satin is your ultimate pick. You are most likely to witness this sort of sew-on patches in UK. Anyhow, if you want your brand logo to stand out then you know what to choose.
- Fill
The third stitch as the name shows is used to fill up the blank spaces to complete the look of your logo. Fill stitches are also used to create a textured look which ultimately increases the durability of your brand logo. These stitches alternate the lines to create a woven look. The maximum length it can achieve is 4mm.
- The direction of your stitch
We assume that you have chosen the type of stitch you want whether it’s straight, satin, or fill. The next thing you should do is check out the direction of your stitch and set it. Establishing the direction of your stitch is just like making blueprints for the machine so that it can follow it. Plus, if you want a perfect logo, you have to ensure that you are one step ahead.
Just like the “near me” requires your exact location, to show the most appropriate results while researching on google, an embroidery machine also needs instruction “near it” to follow. Without that, it might just ruin your logo and you wouldn’t want that, correct? So you better not forget or skip this part.
- Color of your thread
Just like a logo represent your brand, the color you choose is going to play a significant role in building your brand identity. You can Barca and Real Madrid for instance, if you see their patches and logos, you will find some dominant colors. You can pick up any brand with a dominant color to differentiate it from another logo. Hence, the next step for you is to select the color of your thread. Remember that the colors should match the existing logo so that we can have the best and most satisfying results.
- Send the file to the embroidery machine
Now that all the prework is done, it’s time to transfer your file to the embroidery machine for digitization. Only then we can have a classic embroidered logo. If you have converted your ordinary file to the embroidery file, transfer this converted file to the machine. Although, you might not need any instruction on how to move the file to the machine, some of you still need online assistance to do this simple task. You just need to have a flashcard and USB cable to transfer it to the computer that has embroidery software.
- Prepare your machine
All of that leads us to almost the final part of our logo digitization. It’s time to prepare the machine. You might ask, how you are going to do it. Well, you have to notify the machine about all the settings including choosing the threads, stitching sequence, needles, orientation, necessary thread colors, and more. Be mindful that each thing depends on the software you are using and the stitch you choose. Now place the fabric in the machine and slide it into its arm. Let the machine handle the rest of that. However, before working on your actual project, it’s better to use a sample. Because if humans can make mistakes then what do you expect from a man-made machine? Can’t it do the same? Besides, it’s better to do what is affordable for you. What if the machine messes it up, would you be able to reverse the process? No.
- Start with a sample
What do you do before buying a car? You go for a test drive. This is what you should do before anything you are doing for the first time. No, not the test drive in your car! But the test of anything you are about to purchase or do. Take digitization, for instance, we don’t doubt your abilities but we do have concerns about the machine embroidery. Especially if you are using it after decades, and even if not, don’t directly run your fabric on it. Take a sample logo and try each stitch and color you have selected. Once it gets smooth, you are good to go. Do you know that cotton embroidery patches in UK are digitized just like this? Well, you are welcome.
Basics of digitizing for embroidery
Well, if you are a professional and know digitizing then it wouldn’t be hard for you to digitize your logo or any image into embroidery. But if you are not and you know nothing about the process, it’s better to seek assistance or hire someone to do the work for you.
However, the purpose of this article is to guide you but we’d suggest starting from the very beginning. Just like they say, let’s start from the start!
Here you need to learn the basic things about how should you commence the process. But even before that, you need to know the file formats. Because without knowing the format, you might not be able to keep it going. Even if you are taking logo embroidery, the first thing they teach you is about different formats. So shall we move on to that?
File formats
There might be a lot but we are about to mention three main formats here respectively machine, native, and the expanded file format, and each one of them has. One more thing that should be kept into consideration is that not every embroidery machine supports every file type. Hence, some universal formats are accepted and readable by embroidery machines often.
Machine file formats
Selecting a digitized logo for embroidery can be a tough decision to make without having background knowledge about it. Because it all depends on supporting file formats if you don’t know what format is readable to the embroidery machine, you will be compromising on its quality. Hence, give the following part a good read. Four formats are supported by almost every machine across the globe from Asia to the UK.
- JEF
Used by the Janome sewing machine, this file format contains embroidery information in detail such as instructions for the machine and stitching patterns.
- PES
The following format accommodates graphics, commands for embroidery machines, design, colors, and names.
- PEC
If you want a format directly read by a machine then you should better use the PEC type. This format is often incorporated in PES files too.
- PCD
PCD or point cloud data is a format to store 3D cloud point data and it is one of the highest resolution formats. You can consider it an awesome pick!
Native file formats
An embroidery machine can’t read these formats but can be read or written by embroidery software. However, you can edit the design in these files and later on convert it to the machine or expand file formats to run on the machine. You can create custom and cheap designs using the native format yourself.
Expanded file formats
These are commercial embroidery machine formats. The smallest files in size usually consist of simple x and y movements. They don’t retain color information and command machines to follow. They include files such as DST and exp.
- DST aka (Data Stitch Tajima) contains only stitch commands for the embroidery machines and has a maximum stitch/jump length of 121. It does not contain colors.
- EXP is one of the simplest yet pure embroidery formats. Only stitches and no header. The maximum distance in any direction is 127.
Different Types of Digital Embroidery Used for Commercial Purposes
There is a thing known as commercial embroidery. It is the mass production of digital embroidery on textile products including sheets and garments. There are four different types of it…
- Standard
As the name suggests, the first one is a standardized approach. It is a customized process for your logo digitization.
- 3D Puff
Then we have 3D puff securing the second position. It is used to create a textured effect for your brand logo. If you want an elegant appearance for your brand emblem, you can try this sort of digital embroidery.
- Laser
Next, we have laser embroidery. Yes, we know that it might sound strange. If you know layered embroidered then you might know this one. It is a layered form of embroidery and in this type, the chosen design is applied to the fabric by using laser technology and there is no stitching.
- Patch
Last but certainly not the least is this one of the simplest forms of embroidery. You attach or staple the fabric to the logo and then place it on the garment.
The Final Note!
However, the guide was supposed to be only about how to digitize a logo but we know the importance of background knowledge. Hence, we tried our best to provide you with all the latest details about digitization and the whole process. Now that you know each thing in particular, we hope you can create the perfect embroidered logo for your brand. Try out this step-by-step guide and let us know if it was of any help or not.