EMBROIDERY
Caps, Hats, jackets, polo shirts, blankets, aprons: you name it and NorthWest Graphic Works has put stitches on it. We digitize our designs in-house for our industrial embroidery machines which means every single stitch is purposely digitized for your apparel. The luster and dimension can not be matched and adds class to any apparel.
Embroidery Digitizing
Embroidery digitizing is the process of converting artwork into a digital file using software that allows embroidery machines to understand the needle’s path. This process is not automated and in fact, great digitizing is considered an art form if done correctly. Most embroidery machines have software of their own allowing us to control their functions while reading instructions from a file that has been digitized.
​
Embroidery machines are not able to read the same types of files as your computer can, so you have to digitize your logo in a way that the machines can understand before they can do their job. From a digitizer’s perspective, that usually means taking a JPG or PNG file of a customer’s company logo or artwork and converting into an embroidery file. The embroidery file type is determined by the type of embroidery machine you will be using.
Understanding the design is one of the most important pieces of this process. The size, complexity, and placement of the artwork will all factor into the digitizing process. Efficient digitizers (and technically all digitizers if they are good) should consider fabric vs thread. There may be specific designs that will look better to have the fabric show through as a color rather than laying thread down. It’s also important to assign embroidery stitch types to specific areas while considering factors such as the fabric type and “push and pull” of the garment.
There are many variables and directions that can affect the outcome of your stitching, so each job should be treated differently and handled with care. The straight stitch is a foundational stitch for embroidery where straight lines of stitches are repeated to make a pattern. If you’re looking to have text embroidered, then the satin stitch is probably the stitch type for you. Also known as the tatami stitch or the ceding stitch, the fill stitch is typically used to fill in patterns, just like its name suggests. Fill stitches use alternating lines to give the embroidery a woven appearance.
Stitch Type
Our Embroidery Department
The better your file is set up, the better the sew-out will be. There should be no shortcuts with this process and with the number of companies that offer digitizing these days, it’s important to find the right person or business for the job. At NorthWest Graphic Works, we offer in-house digitizing of your artwork. Click below to get your embroidery project started. We also have 10 years of embroidery experience, offer 1/2 hour of art work, editing, and manipulation included with your order, stitch-outs are available upon request, and we give proofs for approval before production begins.