Since this is also going on to digitizing, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for my lengthy post (I'm sure most are tired of it by now). Of course, it's probably nothing new in this thread.
As for digitizing I sub all mine out to a couple different places, here is and art to it and for the it takes me to
do it I can make more working on something else.
This is true. About when Rick started, I could get significantly more for a simple logo crest then I can now. Rather or not they charge by stitch count (traditional method) or flat rate, it doesn't matter if a design takes us 5 minutes or 5 hrs, we get paid the same. A lot of players in the digitizing game, which is good and bad for customers. There are a lot of hacks in the game as well, mainly due to cheap home software that is limited. Some are limited to nothing but auto conversions. It isn't auto-digitizing, computers don't digitize. Auto converting will always render mistakes, always. I can say that with the up most confidence, because no artwork, no matter how well a vector file is setup, is setup for good production embroidery, unless that file is going to suck big time for something like cut vinyl. Especially when it comes to connector stitches that we use to keep trim count down. Raster files don't yield good quality conversions out of the gate anyway, just due to the nature of what is a raster file.
Whatever you do, stay away from auto converting when your learning to digitizing. A lot of bad habits and especially bad embroidery comes of it (some may or may not even realize it).
Now, when you are looking for someone to digitize, don't focus so much on price, but quality and how well the production time is on the files. If you have a file with a flat rate of $5 no matter the size of the design (yes, I do know digitizers that do that), that one time fee of $5 might cost you more on the production floor. It could take you 40-50 minutes to stitch that out, but get a better quality file (albeit more expensive) might be able to knock that time down in half. Depending on how many you are doing, 20 extra minutes translates to a lot. Not all files are created equally.
Along the not all files being the same. If you get a customer that has a logo and embroidery already done on a garment, send both to your digitizer. Not all digitizer digitize the same. That doesn't mean that one is wrong or one is right, some might overlap here, but some overlap there or use a back stitch when others use a triple pass, that's were more of the artistry comes in when digitizing someone else design.
When people digitize, we have to worry about the interaction of thread, needle and fabric. Things like stitch type, density, pull compensation, underlay and especially the sequence that the needle(s) take all affect quality and this isn't necessary the same for all types of substrates. Some designs you can get away with stitching it on more substrates then you can others. Some designs really need to be specifically done for individual substrate. Problem here is, most customers don't think that and quality does suffer. I'm seen customers want a design that was at the time designed for shirts want it on structured hats. Stitch sequence is all wrong.
Know your stitch types and when to be able to identify to use a particular one and the angles that they should go in. Depending on what machine you get, you have min and max widths that are used on satin stitches (most popular and best looking stitch type in my opinion), these vary from machine to machine (some are the same, some are not), the smaller widths can be helped with using lighter weight thread and smaller needle and going slower.
Lettering, in of itself perhaps the most important digitizing aspect that all digitizers deal with. Learn to be able to spot which ones will or won't based on size. Size is what gets most designs. A lot of designers when they are creating their designs don't take physical production methods such as embroidery in mind (this applies to more then just lettering, but lettering is a big one). I'm in no way slighting their abilities as a designer, but they just don't know and you are going to deal with customers that want as is and sometimes that just doesn't work and still be quality. This is especially seen in lettering. Anything below .18", in height of the cap. letters, as a satin stitch isn't going to translate at all. I don't like seeing them below .20" and this is for a regular plain ole block font. Smallest simple scripts like to be around .25" min.
Now, I mentioned production as a key element. In most instances of what you are going to be doing, production is a key element, however, sometimes production does have to take a little bit of a back seat in order to achieve a quality end result. Puff, blends, even just regular structured hat embroidery, have special digitizing needs that are always great for time, but needed for quality.
I could go on and on about this, but the point being is that there is more knowledge that goes into this then the average person thinks about. This is what I think about when ever I do my own design work. Why my designs might be considered more "simple" then others.
Just be very careful about how you choose as a digitizer or when you learn this stuff to do yourself.
I have Wilcom deco studio for monogramming and name drops..
Check with your digitizers and see if they can digitize the ESA keyboard fonts for your DecoStudio. Some fonts it's nice to have different ones then what the other embroiderers have.
Anyways, we have this logo that we run quite often and it causes a lot of problems. There is an 'I' in the logo and the thread breaks continuously on the dot, the dot is about 6mm.
