Embroidery file formats explained

Embroidery machines don't read artwork directly. They read stitch files, and the format you need depends on your machine brand.

Common formats

• DST (Tajima): the industry standard, widely accepted by commercial machines.
• PES (Brother/Babylock): popular with home and small-shop machines.
• JEF (Janome), EXP (Melco), HUS (Husqvarna Viking), VP3 (Pfaff).
• EMB / OFM: editable working files that keep layers and stitch settings.

Tips

1. Keep an editable master file, then export to the machine format.
2. Format conversion does not change stitch quality; good digitizing does.
3. Vector art (AI, EPS, SVG) makes cleaner digitizing than low-resolution JPGs.

If you need artwork digitized or vector-traced in any format, OurDigitizer offers 6-8 hour turnaround, unlimited revisions, from $5: https://ourdigitizer.com