a now and then, slightly ahead of its' time, chock
full of tidbits,
tips & tricks publication
of
DIGITIZERS TO THE STARS
Will not stain clothing or cause thread breaks.
WARNING: Keep away from fire, flame & competitors.
This little gem is an outgrowth of frequently asked questions (FAQs), oft-repeated suggestions and the traditional post-Christmas to New Year drop in digitizing requests (aka too much time on our hands). This first issue focused on how to become a smarter buyer of digitizing and can be downloaded from the link below. We update information and publish when time allows. We hope you have as much fun reading it as we do writing it.
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Whenever possible, provide two copies of your artwork; one at the size it will sew and the second as large as possible. We can better determine any potentially troublesome areas by looking at an actual size artwork. (See our rant on small lettering, below.) We can also estimate stitch counts more accurately using a copy of the design at the size it will sew, but large designs provide better accuracy for digitizing. Remember, stitch count estimates are only estimates and are not guaranteed. (Back to topics)(Back to top)
How you can do stitch counts too!
Every embroiderer will be put on the spot at one time or another by a customer who wants a "ballpark" estimate. What this really means is if your ballpark figure is too high, the customer will go elsewhere and if it is too low, you will be expected to produce for that price anyway. If your time has not yet come it will. By learning and practicing this method, you can take about 5 minutes to come up with that ballpark figure and rest assured you will not lose money on the job. We have been using the following method for over three years to estimate stitch counts for our customers and have found it fairly accurate. All it takes is a ruler and a calculator, but you can save yourself a lot of time and aggravation by first going to your local travel or map store and buying a map measuring device, which looks like a fat pen with a roller on it and costs about $5. It will probably have a window up one side where you select the scale. Scroll to the scale reading 1 inch to 1 mile. This is the only scale you need for estimating embroidery.
To estimate: Figure the area of all fill stitching, regardless of color breaks. For regular areas, measure length & width and multiply the two numbers; for circles use the "pie-r-squared" formula, or (radius x radius) x 3.14 (radius is one-half the diameter, which is the circle's length or width); for irregular areas measure the largest regular area, ignoring insignificant portions that fall inside or outside that area, then add the area(s) of any significant portions of the design. You now have the total area of all fill stitching. Multiply this area by 1,200 for the number of stitches needed to fill the area. Don't give up now, you're half done and the worst is behind you!
Now for the outlines & detail. This is where the map measuring device will become your best friend. Making sure the device is set to 0, begin rolling the device along any lines that would be column stitched. If your design is large or complex, you may have to do this in several steps depending on where your scale stops. (The scale on our device stops at 21 inches regardless of how far we drag it.) Write down the readout(s) on the device, add them together and multiply by 150. This is the number of stitches necessary to produce the column stitching in your design. Repeat the procedure for detail or run stitching but multiply by 25.4. IMPORTANT: On some devices, reversing the direction you are rolling in will reverse the readout also, so make sure you roll in only one direction. You may be able to find a better device with a digital readout and roller ball on it that will allow linear measurement in any direction. If you find one let us know--We've been looking for months.
In short this amounts to: (fill area x 1200) + (inches of column stiching x150) + (inches of run stitching x 25.4) If all this is just too terribly confusing or you'd rather not mess with it, you can always send us your digitizing -- when requested, we provide these estimates free of charge to our customers with their bid. (Back to topics)(Back to top)
We receive many requests with lettering that is too small to sew well. We can digitize any size lettering, including lettering that is too small for anyone to sew clearly. We suggest you enlarge or reduce your artwork to the size it will sew and compare it to the suggestions and illustrations on the reverse side of our Rate Card. (You can request a Rate Card by e-mail. Be sure and give us a FAX number or snail mail address.) If you discover a troublesome area, ask your customer if the entire design can be enlarged, the small lettering can be enlarged, edited or eliminated, or some combination thereof. (Back to topics)(Back to top)
We often estimate digitizing costs and stitch count from less-than desirable-artwork (or sometimes none at all, which is better than some of the sub-crayon art we have received). We have over 10 years experience in creating "camera ready" art and can provide graphic design services in house. Imagineedles created the concept design used by embroiderers for "Project Columbine". If we receive no artwork or artwork requiring any modification or adjustment, art charges will be billed in addition to digitizing fees. You will be advised of art charges before we proceed with any artwork, and asked to approve the artwork before we begin digitizing. (Back to topics)(Back to top)
We currently deliver more than 95% of our files by e-mail, which speeds service for you and your customers. On the downside, we cannot e-mail your sewout. If you are not currently on the internet and are looking for an Internet Service Provider (ISP), choose one who will be a help, not a headache. E-mail deliveries can be interrupted or corrupted, requiring retransmission, and they sometimes just don't get through the gateways properly. Still, the speed and ease of delivery outweigh these drawbacks and we prefer e-mail to any other delivery method available. For more information on painless electronic file transfer, see our article on page 66 in the June 1997 issue of "Stitches" magazine. If you missed it our don't get "Stitches", contact us and we'll be glad to send you a reprint. (Back to topics)(Back to top)
There are some bizarre bugs in Melco condensed design files for which we have not been able to track down a cure. Knowledgeable tech support people don't seem to understand them, or they give reasons for the problems that make no sense. Still, we think its worth mentioning, so the first time it happens to you your heart won't stop like ours did.
When we encounter strange phenomena using the condensed format, we will
provide up to three additional sizes of any design in expanded format at
no charge to you.
Melco condensed fans--expanded format always sews better anyway. Use condensed
only when resizing or editing a design. (Back
to topics)(Back to top)
Imagineedles received a first place at METS 96 in Chicago, IL for Best of Show for Companies in Business Under 2 Years. The design was a full-front bulldog featuring a studded leatherette applique on fleece that was completed at 3 am the day before the show. We swore we would never sew it again and violated our oath 2 weeks later.
Imagineedles received a first place at METS 97 in Chicago, IL for Best Monogram. The entry was a Victorian Style Monogram which was embroidered on a bath towel. Click here to to see it!
Imagineedles digitized the designs which won first place for Cap Embroidery at METS 98 and the first place distinction for a Jacket Back at METS 99 in Chicago, IL. This is the fourth consecutive year an imagineedles design received a first place at the Midwest Embroidery Technology Seminar. The 1998 and 1999 entries were created for the Madison, WI Fire Department and were embroidered by Firehouse Designs in Madison, WI.
Imagineedles digitized and embroidered a 1968 Mustang Convertible design
which won an Honorable Mention for Embroidery on a Jacket Back in the
1999 EMB Honors Competition in Atlantic City, NJ. Special thanks to
Holloway for donating several jackets for us to work with, and also to Gildan,
who donated a case of shirts.
INGREDIENTS: Guts, Glory, Green Kryptonite, Blood, Sweat & Tears, two scoops of raisins and 20% more peanuts!
