Beginner Software

rmonks · December 29th, 2014, 06:56 AM

I am new to embroidery, just bought a used Tajima TFX-904 and want to buy software for lettering, numbers, and possibly editing of designs that have been digitized, I don't want to spend much at this time if this turns out to be more difficult that I expected.

embthreads · December 30th, 2014, 10:21 AM

Look at www.embrilliance.com or Embird.com

A lot of people like these programs and there is a lot of support available for them.

3 star military mom · December 31st, 2014, 07:29 AM

I use stitch era universal.

I know it's not the best, but it fits into my budget!

aardvark7 · December 31st, 2014, 10:59 AM

The thing to bear in mind when looking at software is to not expect it to work miracles and produce wonderful embroidery if you don't understand the basics and what is behind the nature of the stitching.

Many of them are very clever and many will offer almost automatic design creation, but often fall well short.

The simple fact is that if the stitches are in the right order and the right place, any program will give a good design! Usually, the more expensive the software, the better it will be at creating stitches with the right placement and the quicker a design can be punched. However, you still need to understand fabrics, tensions, pull compensations, etc. before you can hope to produce quality, trouble-free designs.

rmonks · December 31st, 2014, 03:34 PM

All good information. I agree and understand the concept that you get what you pay for, I was looking at buying Wilcom software, but dang it! I just don't want to pay that much right off not knowing anything about what I'm getting into. Thanks to all

aardvark7 · January 1st, 2015, 05:57 AM

Wilcom is, without doubt, the most sophisticated and intelligent, producing the best stitching for complex input. However, it has its flaws and is extremely daunting to learn.
Anyone without experience will be lost without a good deal of training from Wilcom and that is very, very expensive.

Of course, I don't know if they will always do it, but Wilcom also take other software in part-ex, so you can buy a rival and then virtually get your money back if you move up (although it does depend upon the grade of software and is probably limited to certain brands).

Compucon EOS/Baruadan TES (same thing) is not bad and, like most, modular. That means you can get a basic lettering level and then move up if you find it does the job you need. You might even be able to find some second hand.