Outsourcing Challenges Embroidery Project

A top notch digitizer can provide high quality work, but only if they are provided with the right information to get the job done. Low quality artwork will lead to low quality digitizing.

Truly, a digitized design is only as good as the artwork. Artwork should be clear, precise and in color. Fuzzy images are not acceptable. There is a popular computer phrase that says: “garbage in equals garbage out.” This applies to artwork and digitizing as well. You must make every effort to obtain and deliver the best quality artwork that you can. A fax of a fax is not suitable. Graphic files from the internet tend to be very grainy and pixelated, and are usually to low in quality for digitizing. Vector files are ideal, but many customers don’t have their logos available in vector format. High quality bitmaps are usually ok.

Second, you must identify what type of fabric the design will be sewn on. This is very important information. A design will require different stitch characteristics depending upon the type of fabric, as the type, texture and thickness of a fabric will affect the embroidery. Typically a design created for denim, will not sew as well on knit.

Third, the intended sewing size of the design must be clearly defined. You can’t just say that the design will be sewn on a cap. A golf cap has a larger sewing field than a baseball cap. Be specific. Also be aware that small, intricate details do not work well on small embroidered designs. Just because it can be printed small, doesn’t mean that it can be sewn small. This is caused by the action of the needle. It takes two penetrations of the fabric for a needle to lay down a visible stitch. If the needle penetrations are too close together, the result is a large hole rather than a stitch. So don’t be surprised when the digitizer tells you that some details are not practical.