What Is Digitizing?

Suppose you have a design or logo, and you want it stitched out on a garment. How does it go from a print or digital design to becoming an embroidered design? The answer is a process known as digitizing.

Digitizing is both art and science. It starts with scanning an image, but there is much more to it than that. While there are software programs that automate parts of the digitizing process, digitizing cannot be completely automated because of the many factors considered in creating good embroidery designs.

We usually start by scanning the image and then, depending on its quality, sharpening it up or enhancing it. We might also resize it or crop pieces of it according to the client’s requests and plans for how the design will be used. Then we make a “map” of the image that shows the embroidery thread colors, stitch sequence, stitch types and direction, and any other information we’ll need to have to create the design.

The next step is importing the design into digitizing software. We further define the stitching areas, stitch types and length, tension and pull compensation, plan for any possible distortion from the material it will be stitched on, plot color changes and thread trims, and other stitch variables. Once that’s done, we put the design on a disk that can be read by the embroidery machine.

We then run a test stitch-out, and then examine the stitched design for alignment, clarity, coverage, color matching/blending, and overall appearance. If we encounter any problems, we head back to the computer and make some adjustments, and then do another test stitch-out. We repeat this until the design stitches smoothly and looks good, and then we send the design to the client for approval.

There’s a lot to consider when digitizing a design: fabric properties, garment types, thread properties, machine characteristics–and lots of past experience. A big part of quality digitizing work is the experience and expertise the digitizer brings to the work. We always strive to use our years of experience in digitizing and stitching to ensure that your design is digitized to the highest possible quality for the best possible results.