Embroidery Digitizing
Services
Flat-rate digitizing for logos, hats, jackets and patches, priced by the design, not the stitch count.
per design
available
free revisions
100% Manual Digitizing
Clean, precise & production ready
All File Formats
DST, PES, EXP, JEF & more
Fast Turnaround
As fast as 1-2 hours
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Unlimited revisions included
See our embroidery digitizing samples
A quick look at real files we’ve digitized, open the full set to browse every sample.
-
Patriotic eagle flag patch, digitized for satin and fill stitch -
Multi-colour wolf head digitizing, left chest ready -
Wolves mascot logo, sewn out from our digitized file -
SoCal Sundown KC-130J patch digitizing preview
All Sample Designs
How we turn your artwork into an embroidery file
Digitizing is a series of decisions, not a file conversion. Software cannot make those decisions for you, which is why an auto-traced file and a digitized file behave differently the moment they hit the machine.
We start by reading the artwork: what will hold at size, what has to be simplified, where fine detail will close up once thread replaces pixels.
Then five things get decided, in this order
-
Stitch type
Satin for borders and lettering, fill for solid areas, running stitch for detail lines. The wrong call shows up as a border that ripples or a fill that looks flat.
-
Underlay
The stitches nobody sees. They anchor the fabric and give top stitches a foundation. Missing underlay is why a design sinks into a knit polo.
-
Density
Tight enough to cover the fabric, open enough not to perforate it. Density right for woven twill will punch holes in a lightweight tee.
-
Pull compensation
Thread pulls fabric inward as it sews. We widen columns against that pull so the finished shape matches your artwork.
-
Sequencing and trims
The order of the color blocks decides how many trims and jump stitches your operator has to clear.
Then the file goes on a machine.
What digitizing costs and how fast you get it
Pricing is flat and published. Your tier depends on what you are embroidering not on how complex somebody judges your artwork to be.
Left-chest logos, polos, caps
Vertical designs, badges, detailed artwork
Jacket backs, large designs, event logos
You pick your tier from the table above without asking us to grade your logo first. Every tier here carries a number. Nothing on this site is priced on request.
Stitch-count pricing makes the final figure unknowable until after the file is built. Flat tiers do not.
Unlimited free revisions
$5 for first design
Invoiced on delivery, nothing due upfront
Monthly invoicing & volume discounts for shops
Which embroidery file formats you receive
Tell us the machine and you get the format it reads. All seven are delivered at the same price.
| Format | Machines |
|---|---|
| DST | Tajima |
| PES | Brother / Babylock |
| JEF | Janome |
| EXP | Melco / Bernina |
| VP3 | Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff |
| XXX | Singer |
| ART | Bernina |
If you are not sure which one your machine takes, say what you run and we will send the right one.
More on embroidery file formats and which machines read them →How to send us your artwork
-
Upload your artwork
A JPG, PNG, PDF or vector file all work. A clear photo of an existing patch or garment works too.
-
Pick your size tier
Standard, Portrait or Full Size, with the coverage listed so you choose it yourself.
-
Tell us the placement and format
Left chest, cap, jacket back, sleeve, full front, plus which machine format you need.
-
Add rush if you need it
No extra charge.
-
We deliver the file
A machine-ready file lands in your inbox and the invoice follows it.
No account is required and nothing is paid before delivery. If your shop prefers email, send the artwork that way instead.
Once you have your first file, you can set up an account for monthly invoicing, saved format preferences and volume pricing.
Digitizing services we handle
Custom embroidery digitizing services across every placement and technique you are likely to run.
-
Logo digitizing
The job most people arrive with. A company mark cleaned up, sized and sequenced to sew cleanly on whatever you are putting it on.
-
Left chest digitizing
The standard 3.5 to 4 inch corporate placement, and the tightest test of small-text quality on the site. Standard tier, $15.
-
Cap digitizing
Caps sew from the center out on a curved, seamed surface. Density and sequencing that work flat will pucker on a crown.
-
3D puff digitizing
Foam needs wider satin columns, capped ends and enough stitch coverage to cut the foam cleanly. Under-stitched puff leaves foam showing.
-
Jacket back digitizing
Large-area work where density decisions compound. Full Size tier, $60, and up to 12 hours because the file deserves it.
-
Patch digitizing
A patch file is its own problem: a merrowed or satin edge that holds without curling, and a fill underneath that has to sit flat enough to carry it. We digitize the file.
-
Applique digitizing
Placement line, tackdown and cover stitch, sequenced so your operator can cut cleanly between steps.
-
Chenille digitizing
Loop and moss chenille for varsity and team work. Almost nobody digitizes it properly.
-
Monograms and lettering
Small text lives or dies on letter height, column width and pull compensation.
What separates a file that runs from one that doesn’t
Most embroidery problems are file problems wearing a machine problem’s clothes. Four show up more than the rest.
-
Puckering on caps
The crown is curved and seamed, and density calculated for a flat panel has nowhere to go once the fabric bends. The fix happens in the file: reduced density, underlay that stabilizes rather than fights the curve, and a sew order that works outward from the center.
-
Letters filling in
Below roughly a quarter inch, satin columns in letters like a, e and o close up and the word turns into a blur. Minimum letter height is a digitizing constraint, not a machine setting, and it has to be solved before the file exists.
-
Registration gaps
White fabric showing between two color blocks that should meet. Thread pulled the fabric inward as it sewed and nothing compensated for it. The outline of the shape is correct, the stitching drifted away from it.
-
Thread breaks
Density stacked too high in one area, or a sequence that drags the needle across the design repeatedly. The operator gets blamed. The file caused it.
Every one of these costs more than the file did: a cap that puckers is a ruined cap, the machine time that ruined it, the rerun, and an explanation to the customer waiting on the order. That is the arithmetic that decides what a digitizing file is worth.
See a file we digitized, sewn out
Every stitch-out below is a real sewn file we delivered the artwork, the digitized preview, and a photograph of the finished result on the actual garment.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | 5.92″ × 5.89″ |
| Stitch count | 67,746 |
| Formats delivered | DST (Tajima) |
| Fabric | Black |
| Turnaround hit | 8-hour (complex) |
| Tier | Portrait – $25 |
| Digitized by | Dustin Smith |
Digital previews look good on every design. A sewn stitch-out is the only version that tells you whether the underlay held, whether the density was right for the fabric, and whether the small text stayed readable. Our digitizers have been doing this work for nearly 10 years, and this is the part of it that can be checked.
If a file doesn’t run right on your machine
If a file we delivered is not sewing correctly, we put it on our machine and sew it ourselves at no charge. You get the photograph and the settings we ran it at.
- If the file is the problem
- We fix it free and send the corrected version.
- If the file sews clean
- You get the tension, speed and stabilizer settings that produced a clean result, so you can match them on your machine.
Send the file back with a photo of what the machine produced and we will start there.
Who we work with
Embroidery shops running recurring volume
Monthly invoicing, volume discounts, and saved format preferences so repeat orders come back in the format you already run. Send artwork by email if a form slows you down.
Businesses, teams and organizations ordering one logo
No account, no minimum, no payment before delivery, and your first design is just $5 on simple jobs.
Either way you are talking to people who digitize for a living. Our digitizers have been doing this work for nearly 10 years, and we are reachable 8am–9pm Monday to Saturday and 8am–6pm Sunday, Pacific Time.
(213) 597-2141Questions about embroidery digitizing
-
[ Requirements ] What do you need from me to digitize my design?
The artwork, the finished size in inches, and where it is going. A JPG, PNG, PDF, vector file or a clear photo all work. Telling us the fabric helps, because density for a knit polo is not density for a canvas jacket.
-
[ First Design ] How much does my first design cost?
$5, on simple jobs. Send your first piece of artwork and we digitize it for $5 so you can run it on your own machine and see the file quality before you commit to full-price work. Every order after that runs at standard pricing.
-
[ Account ] Do I need to create an account?
No. Upload artwork, get the file, pay the invoice. Accounts are optional and exist only for shops that want monthly invoicing, saved machine formats and volume pricing. We offer that after your first delivery, never before it.
-
[ File Format ] What file format does my embroidery machine need?
It depends on the brand. We deliver:
- DST: Tajima
- PES: Brother, Babylock
- JEF: Janome
- EXP: Melco, Bernina
- VP3: Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff
- XXX: Singer
- ART: Bernina
Tell us your machine brand at upload and the matching format is what lands in your inbox. Running more than one machine on the floor? Ask and we send every format you need.
-
[ Can’t Open File ] Why won’t a DST or PES file open on my computer?
Because it is not an image. Embroidery files hold stitch instructions: coordinates, color stops, trims, which means your computer has nothing installed that knows how to display them. They open in embroidery software or on the machine itself. Nothing is wrong with the file.
-
[ Production Settings ] Do I need to know my production settings before ordering?
No. Upload the artwork, tell us the garment and the finished size, and we set the production variables from there.
Those variables are:
- Underlay type
- Stitch density
- Pull compensation
- Foam height on 3D puff
- Trim and tie-off placement
- Stitch sequencing
We set each one from the fabric and the placement you give us: a left-chest logo on piqué polo gets different underlay and a different density than the same logo on a structured cap, because the fabric moves differently under the needle.
If you run production yourself and want specific settings, tell us in the order notes and we build to your spec. Shops sending regular work usually do. First-time buyers almost never need to, and nothing about the file quality changes either way.
-
[ Turnaround ] How long does embroidery digitizing take?
Rush jobs come back in 1-2 hours at no additional charge. Complex designs take 8 hours. Complicated jacket backs take up to 12 hours, because large-area density decisions cannot be rushed without it showing up in the sew-out. There is no separate rush fee at any tier, the turnaround is set by what the design actually requires.
-
[ Pricing ] How much does embroidery digitizing cost?
Three flat rates, no per-stitch charges:
- Standard: $15. Left-chest logos, polos, caps.
- Portrait: $25. Vertical designs, badges, detailed artwork.
- Full Size: $60. Jacket backs, large designs, event logos.
The price is set by the size and complexity of the design, not by how many stitches it ends up containing. Those are flat prices, not starting points, and you know the cost before you upload.
-
[ Payment ] Do I pay before you start?
No. We invoice on delivery, so you see the file before you pay for it. No deposit and no card on file. Shops sending regular work can move to monthly invoicing.
-
[ Revisions ] What if the file needs changes?
Revisions are free and unlimited. Send back what needs adjusting and we adjust it, as many times as it takes to get the file right.
-
[ Remediation ] What if the file doesn’t run right on my machine?
We sew it on our machine at no charge and send you the photo and the settings we ran it at. If the file is the problem, we fix it free and send the corrected version. If it sews clean here, you will know which machine settings to change. Tell us what your machine produced: thread breaks, gaps between fills, letters closing up, registration drifting, and that’s where we start.
Ready to get your file digitized?
$15 flat for simple jobs, back in 1-2 hours at no extra charge, plus free unlimited revisions until it sews the way you need it to.