Erich Campbell

Demystify embroidery digitizing. Learn how software turns art into stitches, why auto-digitizing falls short, and how file types and fonts affect your results.

Who Should Come?

This session caters to those considering adding digitizing to their production offerings, as well as those who have just begun to digitize, but is valuable to any embroiderer as they will benefit from basic technical knowledge and the ability to clearly communicate with digitizers even if they never bring digitizing in-house. The session will inform any novice embroiderer of the essential terminology and concerns related to interpreting art into a digitized embroidery file as well as explain the skills, tools, and basic techniques needed to get underway in digitizing for any embroiderer who wants to start creating designs.

Why Should They Come?

All embroiderers require a properly made, production-ready digitized file to create competent embroidery. Knowing the basic requirements of the medium of embroidery, how art is interpreted into a digitized file, the limitations one will encounter, and the way in which the physical realities of embroidery inform the design and digitizing process will equip any embroiderer with the knowledge needed to communicate with clients and outside digitizers clearly, as well as provide the foundational knowledge needed to avoid common problems and begin digitizing capably should they decide to bring digitizing in house.

What Will They Learn?

• Common Difficulties and Complications: The most common stumbling blocks in embroidery digitizing and how to avoid them.
• How digitizing is done: How client interviews are collected, art is prepared, decisions are made, and elements are drawn in digitizing software, and files are exported to create the file necessary to drive embroidery machines.
• Evaluating Automation: What can, should, and shouldn’t be automated - the pros and cons of ‘conversion’at the current state of the art.
• Distortion and Compensation: What forces are consistently acting on embroidery, and how we compensate for them in digitizing to get accurate shapes and clean, well aligned text and outlines. What is Pull and Push distortion and how do Pull and Push Compensation come into play?
• Drawing for Digitizing: How digitizing is literally done; the drawing tools available and how they are used, and when to redraw art.
• Stitch Types, Stitch Selection and Interactions: The ‘Big 4’ Stitch types common to commercial machine embroidery, how they are used, how they are controlled, and what to expect when you combine them.
• Underlay and ‘Technical’ Stitches: An explanation of what underlay is and the basic types of underlay, as well as other non-aesthetic stitches and how they are used to improve stitch quality and outcomes.
• Developing the Eye for Embroidery: How to begin developing your ability to interpret art into stitches.
• Knowing the Shapes you Need: A real-time look at how a digitizer determines how to draw the shapes they need, based on the forces in play and the desired result.

Great embroidery starts before the machine runs. Learn advanced digitizing techniques that reduce stitch counts, improve design clarity, and save real production time.

Why Someone Should Come

Great embroidery starts before the machine ever turns on. Advanced digitizing is the key to creating designs that run smoothly, look professional, and save production time. This session moves beyond auto-digitizing and basic fills, teaching you how to engineer files that work in harmony with your specific fabrics and tools.

Who Should Come

Digitizers, production artists, and shop owners who want to take control of their stitch files. Attendees should have a working knowledge of digitizing software and a desire to reduce stitch counts while improving design clarity and texture.

What They Will Learn

• Density Management: Learn how to avoid over-densifying files, which leads to bulletproof embroidery and fabric distortion.
• Trading Stitches for Efficiency: Discover techniques for reducing overall stitch counts without sacrificing coverage, including how to adjust files when using thicker threads.
• Small Lettering Mastery: Master the fundamentals of digitizing micro-lettering (down to 3mm tall) by adjusting densities, underlays, and pull compensation for crisp, legible results.
• Production-Friendly Sequencing: Understand how to sequence colors and trims to minimize machine downtime and optimize the workflow for multi-head environments.