Looking for a good ditizer & advice

Emb Images · December 6th, 2019, 02:20 PM

Hello all. I have been embroidering for over 20 years and am still having a hard time finding a really good digitizer. (I am not large enough to have one on staff) I get at least 10 calls aday from the $10.00 per left front people and that is NOT what I am looking for.

What is funny is I have tried a few of them and get just as good of results as I do from my "domestic" guy who I think is just using these other cheap ones and marking it up.

I need someone that can digitize a round logo that won't sew out and look like an egg. The the lettering is all jacked up and wont line up in the circle.

I do a lot of caps and knit caps with logos that have small lettering and borders. I ALWAYS have to edit the logos and sew multiple cample before I can sew production. I don't feelthat is normoal but maybe it is.

Have Wilcom digitizing software and I run new Barudan multihead machines.

Any advice / recomendations?

Thanks,

Robert Young · December 11th, 2019, 10:39 AM

OK I will take the bait.... 20 years embroidering and NO digitizer to keep? You are the issue.... sorry tough love. it is a marriage between digitizer and embroiderer I agree if the digitizer is unable to adapt to your sewing then not a good match. but come on... it is not rocket science ......Sorry if you are having a problem sewing after 20 years of searching for a "good" digitizer then to me the problem is you.

Emb Images · December 11th, 2019, 05:42 PM

Robert, Thanks for your honesty. It's not like we have burned through digitizers. We have been using this same of for 10 or 12 years. Most logos are okay but we find that when sewing caps there may not be enough underlay to hold the cap down and creating a bubble in the middle, if the test cap doesn't sew properly I just add the underlay and move on.

The bigger problem is when the logo is supposed to be round and it comes out looking like an egg. It seems the other digitizers I have tried appear to be using auto digitizing programs.

Maybe I am being too picky. I see that you are a digitizer with 30 years under your belt. Do you expect your customers to edit your files before sewing production? We are just too busy to do that anymore and I was hoping for a recommendation for a quality oriented digitizer that I might try. I am sure you would agree there are digitizers out there with different skill & quality levels.

If you have any recommendations please let me know. If I still have issues maybe you could provide some advice on how I might improve my embroidery skills to get better quality sewing from the digitizing I am currently getting.

Robert Young · December 11th, 2019, 06:31 PM

egg should not be a problem, I agree! but if a client came to me and said my circle was coming out egg shaped I would change my digitizing for that client. because it is a marriage between digitizer and embroiderer and communication is critical. Literally, (I have done this) send the same design to 5 embroidery shops and you will get at least 3 different results as more is in the production than the digitizing. the REAL star of the show is the machine operator! we get paid one time... you get to use the file over and over ... forgive the average digitizer for not caring. cause they do not.

Emb Images · December 12th, 2019, 12:18 PM

I think we are on the same page. When a customer wants to save money and brings me a logo they had digitized for free or super cheap. I explain that they save a few bucks but if that logo sews poorly and we have multiple thread breaks then we loose money because it takes longer to sew. Not to mention the frustration. I also alway look at ways we can improve. Anyone that say they know everything about their profession is mistaken IMHO. I feel you can alway learn and improve.

I also agree that the operator needs to care about their job as well. They need to use the correct sized hoop, the correct type of backing, hoop it correctly, make sure the thread tentions are correct.... But if the digitizing is off there is not much an operator can do. Anyway, I will try some others. I was hoping to not have to wade through a bunch of "average digitizers" that don't care to find one that does.

I think we on the sewing side have become spoiled. People expect the digitizing to be cheap and have it back in 24 hours. I remember when a left front cost $100-$150 and it took over a week to get the "disk". They would do a sew out and mail it to you. (U.S. mail not e-mail) If I remember correctly my first digitizer was "Starbird" back in the late 90's.

Thanks again for your input.

embroidery1 · December 20th, 2019, 02:19 AM

Interesting, I received CV from a digtizer asking salery OMG!

embroidery1 · December 20th, 2019, 02:21 AM

Skipped above

Quote:

I guess that depends on the role. If it was hourly & freelance I would expect £10-£13 per hour. If it was a full time role, around £20,000.

JACK W · January 3rd, 2020, 02:27 AM

dear sir

we have been in digitizing filed more than 20 years , we are from China , we have offered digitizing service to USA ,UK more than 20 years . I am sure you will be impressed with our quality job . please give me a chance . more question please visit www.bitmap-vector.com and www.greatwallemb.com or contact me directly .

best regards
jack

[email address]

digidana · January 5th, 2020, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Young

the REAL star of the show is the machine operator! we get paid one time... you get to use the file over and over ... forgive the average digitizer for not caring. cause they do not.

disagree....and agree. the best embroiderer can't make a badly digitized design stitch well.

the digitizing is everything.....and its not about getting paid. its about caring about what you put out and finding a digitizer that thinks like the machine.

agree that the average digitizer doesn't care.

digidana · January 5th, 2020, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emb Images

I think we are on the same page. When a customer wants to save money and brings me a logo they had digitized for free or super cheap. I explain that they save a few bucks but if that logo sews poorly and we have multiple thread breaks then we loose money because it takes longer to sew. Not to mention the frustration. I also alway look at ways we can improve. Anyone that say they know everything about their profession is mistaken IMHO. I feel you can alway learn and improve.

I also agree that the operator needs to care about their job as well. They need to use the correct sized hoop, the correct type of backing, hoop it correctly, make sure the thread tentions are correct.... But if the digitizing is off there is not much an operator can do. Anyway, I will try some others. I was hoping to not have to wade through a bunch of "average digitizers" that don't care to find one that does.

I think we on the sewing side have become spoiled. People expect the digitizing to be cheap and have it back in 24 hours. I remember when a left front cost $100-$150 and it took over a week to get the "disk". They would do a sew out and mail it to you. (U.S. mail not e-mail) If I remember correctly my first digitizer was "Starbird" back in the late 90's.

Thanks again for your input.

excellent post....hit the nail on the head. putting out quality work is what keeps you you business and its definitely a joint effort between digitizer and embroiderer. am embroiderer can't stitch a bad design and make it look good (and can lose a lot of sanity trying), and an embroiderer can screw up a great design as well.