Auto-digitizing Embroidery

You can use autodigitizing either alone or in conjunction with your editing fuctions to create great embroidered designs with no additional effort, if you start with the appropriate artwork.
If you are using bitmap artwork it should ideally be 300 dpi and should be either the smae size or larger than your embroidered design. If you are using vector artwork, the results are even better.
Another advantage you gain when using KPD Compositions is that you can edit your artwork within the autodigitizing wizard, which saves you time and allows you to try out many different variations before finalizing you choice and outputting your design.
Autodigitizing is often dismissed as unprofessional and for beginners only, but there are many situations where autodigitizing is definately the ovoius choice for speed, accuracy and quality.

We all know that we use underlay to attach the base fabric to the backing so that the garment will not move within the hoop during the embroidery process, but did you know that there are a lot more reasons, some obvious and some a little more subtle.
They are:
To overcome fabric textures and patterns
To flatten the fabrics surface
To compensate for a loose top density
To create a 3-D effect

Standard underlay
Used to attach base fabric to backing
.1 to .25 in. column stitches use center run stitch
.25 and up add parallel satin
For fill stitches use lattice underlay

To compensate for patterned fabric surfaces
Edge walk adds structure to satins on fabrics with a surface texture such as twill, pique and birds eye knits, this will serve as a base for the top stitching and keep the stitches from following the grain of the fabric and causing a stepped look.

To flatten the nap of a fabric
Terry, corduroy, velvet and any other fabric with a nap require a cross satin underlay to flatten out fibers before you embroider your design to avoid fibers showing through the stitching
A water or heat soluble topping also helps avoid this problem.

To compensate for a loose density
Leather, sheer fabrics, lame and other delicate fabric can not support a normal density without tearing.

To create a 3-D look
To get coverage without raising your density place an inset satin underlay.
Multiple layers of satin stitch underlays can be used to give your embroidery a more 3-dimensional look
Start with a narrow satin and make each subsequent layer a little wider, usually three layers is sufficient.

You are only going to reap the full benefit of underlay if you first understand why we use underlay and which type is appropriate fr your particular situation.

Lettering

We all have our favorite settings for creating lettering for different situations. For small lettering I like to decrease the density to 45 SPI and to add a single perpendicular running stitch as the underlay. For large lettering on a towel I like to use density of 65 SPI and a crosshatch underlay. You get the idea, and I am sure that you all have your own list of perfect combinations of settings that work just right for you. When you are creating your lettering using KPD Compositions you can save an unlimited amount of lettering styles, so that you can quickly and automatically call up the most perfect and personalized settings for the particular type of lettering you need.
Digitizing Lettering
When you run into a situation where the perfect font is not available it is necessary to digitize the lettering yourself. In this case the artwork you are working from is extremely important. If you are using the auto digitizing or semi-automatic function of your software to perform this function make sure that your artwork is 300 dpi or higher and the artwork is at least the same size of your finished embroidery or larger. The best method to use however is manual digitizing. The reason for this is when digitizing lettering the way in which your column stitches are divided up or branched is crucial for the best translation of the artwork into embroidery. When you are looking at an embroidery of something organic, such as a flower or a leaf variations from the original artwork are usually hard to discern, variations in lettering are almost always easy to spot. Everyone knows what lettering is supposed to look like and any variation from the norm is very obvious.
Size
The size of the lettering that you choose will also determine how you digitize the individual letters. You probably have noticed that just about every software manufacturer offer at least one small script and block font. The reason for this is that when you are sewing out lettering at .25 inches or smaller the rules that apply for embroidering larger lettering don't necessarily apply. Digitizing the corners of the lettering by inputting the individual stitches is the preferred method.
Fabric
When you decide to embroider the same lettering design on different fabrics you need to make sure that you create it for the most challenging fabric. for example if you are digitizing for denim and pique, digitize your lettering for the pique. You will end up with a higher stitch count but you will be assured that it will embroider well on both.
Pull compensation
If you are if you are digitizing lettering to sew out on fleece and twill, I would suggest that you digitize the design for twill and to automatically increase the pull compensation for the fleece application.
Underlay
As in the case of pull compensation I would digitize the lettering with a single center run stitch underlay and then as I increased it in size add first an edge run and then at over .75 inches also add a zig-zag underlay.
Visually correct adjustments
Distorting keyboard lettering
If you look at the example of a standard computer font "EGGSALAD" you will notice that the rounded letters "G" and "S" are slightly larger than the others so that they will appear o b the same size when the word is viewed as a whole. The example of the same word in small embroidered lettering takes the rule a little further, not only is the "G" and "S" larger but so are the letters that have horizontal column stitches such as the "D" and the "E"
Many logos utilize a standard font with only minor changes to either the first letter or letters within the wording. Before you decide to digitize the lettering portion of the design see if you can use the lettering portion of your software to create the lettering and then select the individual letters that need to be altered and adjust them one at a time.
Lettering is just like every other portion of your design, you need to follow all of the same rules as you would when digitizing any design. If you start with good artwork, whether you decide to use keyboard lettering or digitize the lettering from scratch while taking fabric, and sizing limitations in mind your results will be successful.

We all have our favorite settings for creating lettering for different situations. For small lettering I like to decrease the density to 45 SPI and to add a single perpendicular running stitch as the underlay. For large lettering on a towel I like to use density of 65 SPI and a crosshatch underlay. You get the idea, and I am sure that you all have your own list of perfect combinations of settings that work just right for you. When you are creating your lettering using KPD Compositions you can save an unlimited amount of lettering styles, so that you can quickly and automatically call up the most perfect and personalized settings for the particular type of lettering you need.
Digitizing Lettering
When you run into a situation where the perfect font is not available it is necessary to digitize the lettering yourself. In this case the artwork you are working from is extremely important. If you are using the auto digitizing or semi-automatic function of your software to perform this function make sure that your artwork is 300 dpi or higher and the artwork is at least the same size of your finished embroidery or larger. The best method to use however is manual digitizing. The reason for this is when digitizing lettering the way in which your column stitches are divided up or branched is crucial for the best translation of the artwork into embroidery. When you are looking at an embroidery of something organic, such as a flower or a leaf variations from the original artwork are usually hard to discern, variations in lettering are almost always easy to spot. Everyone knows what lettering is supposed to look like and any variation from the norm is very obvious.
Size
The size of the lettering that you choose will also determine how you digitize the individual letters. You probably have noticed that just about every software manufacturer offer at least one small script and block font. The reason for this is that when you are sewing out lettering at .25 inches or smaller the rules that apply for embroidering larger lettering don't necessarily apply. Digitizing the corners of the lettering by inputting the individual stitches is the preferred method.
Fabric
When you decide to embroider the same lettering design on different fabrics you need to make sure that you create it for the most challenging fabric. for example if you are digitizing for denim and pique, digitize your lettering for the pique. You will end up with a higher stitch count but you will be assured that it will embroider well on both.
Pull compensation
If you are if you are digitizing lettering to sew out on fleece and twill, I would suggest that you digitize the design for twill and to automatically increase the pull compensation for the fleece application.
Underlay
As in the case of pull compensation I would digitize the lettering with a single center run stitch underlay and then as I increased it in size add first an edge run and then at over .75 inches also add a zig-zag underlay.
Visually correct adjustments
Distorting keyboard lettering
If you look at the example of a standard computer font "EGGSALAD" you will notice that the rounded letters "G" and "S" are slightly larger than the others so that they will appear o b the same size when the word is viewed as a whole. The example of the same word in small embroidered lettering takes the rule a little further, not only is the "G" and "S" larger but so are the letters that have horizontal column stitches such as the "D" and the "E"
Many logos utilize a standard font with only minor changes to either the first letter or letters within the wording. Before you decide to digitize the lettering portion of the design see if you can use the lettering portion of your software to create the lettering and then select the individual letters that need to be altered and adjust them one at a time.
Lettering is just like every other portion of your design, you need to follow all of the same rules as you would when digitizing any design. If you start with good artwork, whether you decide to use keyboard lettering or digitize the lettering from scratch while taking fabric, and sizing limitations in mind your results will be successful.

Embroidery digitizing Part 1

We often talk about embroidery software and which icons do what, but in the end, it’s not all about the software, it’s your abilities that make the real difference!
If you have a real understanding of the basics of embroidery you can really make any software program do what you need. It's what you feel most comfortable using that should determine your final choice.
Let's take a look at what those basics are.

Density
It is very easy to take density for granted. When you power up your software, it will automatically choose a density for you. It could be the default density or a density based upon the fabric that you chose at start up of your new design. This is a reat point of departure but there are so many more things you can accomplish with various different densities.
If you are trying to blend two or more colors together you have to take density into consideration, because when you layer colors over colors the density will quickly build up and the reult will be a thick embroidery which will crinkle on the edges and be very uncomfortable to wear.
If you know what color fabric you are going to embroider upon you can reduce the densities of those areas of your design that are the same color as the base fabric.
If th column widths within your design vary dramatically you would need to increase the densities for the wide columns and reduce the densities of the narrow ones.
Overlapping and Pull Compensation
Using the automatic pull compensation settings of your software can solve many of your overlapping problems, however there are situations in which you will find that you need to make some changes manually. Two of the examples are illustrated above, in both the beachball and the star designs. In the example of the star the last small stitches that would have created the points of the star have been removed and replace with a single running stitch place in a perpendicular position to the satin stitches. If the satin stitches were brought to the end they would have been so small that they either would have caused thread breaks or created a hole in the fabric.
In the case of the beachball, if all of the stripes had met at the top of the ball it would have caused a hole or at the least thread breaks in the last couple of stripes. I exaggerated th overlap to keep the blue stripes from placing needl penetrations in the same place and I kept the yellow stripes from meeting at the top so that they would not cause a hole.

Design Pathing

One aspect of digitizing that is often ignored, especially by beginning digitizers is pathing. Pathing is the mapping out of the stitching order of the various different objects that make up your final digitized design. There are many different reasons for planning out the sewing order in advance, which include the amount of jumps and trims, the overall sewing time, and potential machine risks which can result from a poorly planned design.
Minimising color changes
Every color change that you place in your designs adds time to the overall sewing time of the design. To change from one color to another the machine must first stop and trim and then the head has to slide to the next desired color and then when the machine begins sewing again it first starts slowly to avoid the thread from pulling out of the needle and then it resumes sewing at full speed. So for every extra color change you place in your design you are adding approximately 7 seconds to the overall sewing time, or if you place 10 extra color changes you are adding 70 seconds, and if you run that design 10 times on a six head machine you are adding 60 X 70 seconds or 70 minutes. So you may not think an extra color change here or the matters too much but at the end of a day of production it can have a huge effect.
Trims and jumps
Both trims and jumps also cause the machine to stop and slow down, often times especially if you are relying on auto digitizing to create your designs the frequency these two commands id overlooked, but if you take the time to look at the sewing sequence of your design either before on your computer or while it is sewing out you can easily devise a plan for either reducing their occurrence or eliminating them all together.
Sewing time
Keeping an eye on all of these factors can greatly increase the efficiency of all of your designs.
Production Issues
The last issue that I would like to address is that of wear and tear on your embroidery machine. Trimmers, color change mechanics and jump stitch solenoids are all mechanical parts which with repeated and frequent use can become overheated and as a result fail well before their expected lifespan. If you trim twice with less than 40 stitches between the trims you are not giving the machine a chance to cool down between operations, if you do this constantly you will most definitely damage the machine. so it is important to plan out your design before you begin to digitize. A good example of this is a Field of polka dots with a fill background. If you digitize the fill first and jump and trim from polka dot to polka dote you stand the risk of damaging you trimmers, but if you digitize the polka dots first and place a fill with voids on top of it you can omit the trims entirely.
If you plan out you designs before you digitize them you can save both running time and excess wear and tear on your equipment. Your run time will be quicker and your machine will last longer.

Building your customer Base

A major concern for all business owners is getting and keeping new customers, in our current economic climate it has become pretty much essential.
Website
Just about every business has a website, if you don't you should, but creating and hosting a website are just the first step. You then need to drive traffic to it. Make sure that your website is mentioned in everything that you do. Invoices, business cards, stationary, advertising, press releases and listings all need to include your web address.
Blog
Hosting a blog gives your current and prospective customers a place to go to see what your company is doing and any specials you are offering. Make sure that you include helpful and informative information that is going to be beneficial to your customers, so that they have a reason for returning on a regular basis. if you don't add new material on a daily basis then make sure it is added at the same time every week or month so they get into the habit of checking it at those intervals.
Newsletter
A great way to remind you customers to visit both your website and blog is a weekly newsletter, this will assure that your customers get weekly reminders to either visit your shop, website or to even call you to follow up on specials or new products.
Cold Calling
The most time intensive forms of customer connection is cold calling, but it offers the biggest return for the time invested and it opens up a two way dialog with your customers, which is a great way to make sure you have a good feel for your customers needs.
Specials, new Products and Incentives
While we have all cut our costs and our prices to the bare bones, making sales and discounts close to impossible in many cases, there is always some inventory that we need to move regardless of the price, even if we just break even. Use that product to get customers to contact you, and while you have their attention bring up your new products and embellishment techniques.
Networking
Don't forget to bring your business cards wherever you go, remember everyone needs embroidery or some kind of embellishment at one time or another, use your card to remind them to contact you when they do.
Getting Involved
Get involved with your community schools, businesses, fund raisers, library, fairs and any other social events, these are the places, events, and organizations that use and need personalization.