- Digitising is a one-off cost per design and size, not a charge on every garment.
- The same crest on a blazer, a cap and a fleece can mean three files, so count files, not logos.
- A cheap file that puckers a box of jumpers is the most expensive option of all.
- If you are VAT registered, make sure the supplier can give you a VAT invoice.
Where will I see a digitising charge?
UK buyers usually meet the cost in one of three places. (US sites spell it embroidery digitizing, but it is the same work.)
| Where you see it | How it is worked out | Ask this first |
|---|---|---|
| A digitising service’s price list | A flat price for each design type or complexity band | How are Simple, Medium and Complex defined, and are all formats included? |
| A per-stitch quote | A rate per 1,000 stitches, usually with a minimum charge | What is the minimum, and when will I know the final stitch count? |
| A setup fee from your local embroiderer | Added once to the first order for that logo | Do I get a copy of the file, and is a cap or bigger size charged again? |
Per-stitch pricing: a worked example
These figures are invented purely to show the arithmetic, not taken from any supplier. Imagine a rate of £1 per 1,000 stitches, with a £10 minimum, applied to three typical UK jobs:
| Example job | Stitches (illustrative) | Sum | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm’s name on a hi-vis vest | 5,000 | 5 × £1 = £5, so the minimum applies | £10 |
| School crest on a blazer | 14,000 | 14 × £1 | £14 |
| Club badge across a jacket back | 60,000 | 60 × £1 | £60 |
The pattern is what matters: per-stitch pricing looks good on small jobs and climbs fast on big ones, while a flat fee stays put however dense the design gets. To get a feel for your own stitch count, try the free stitch count estimator, bearing in mind it gives an estimate, not a final figure.
What does PlixaLabs charge in pounds?
One flat price per design, never per stitch, with all machine formats, a stitch simulation preview and unlimited revisions included. The rush column shows the price with the +50% surcharge for rush (2–4 hours) or super rush (1–2 hours).
| What you are ordering | Typical UK use | Standard (4–8 hours) | Rush or super rush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left chest logo | Chest logos on polos, fleeces, softshells and hi-vis | £10 | £15 |
| Simple design | Staff names, initials and clean wordmarks in 1 to 3 colours | £10 | £15 |
| Medium design | Uniform logos and club badges with fills, 4 to 8 colours | £15 | £22.50 |
| Complex design | Heraldic school crests and photo-style designs, 8 or more colours | £22 | £33 |
| Cap | Club and promotional caps | £12 | £18 |
| 3D puff | Raised lettering on caps | £15 | £22.50 |
| Jacket back | Large club, team or company backs | £18 | £27 |
| Patch | Sew-on badges | £12 | £18 |
| Appliqué | Fabric-layered designs | £12 | £18 |
| Coloreel | Files for Coloreel thread colouring | £20 | £30 |
| Vector conversion | Clean artwork from a rough logo | £8 | £12 |
Paid orders are invoiced by Zorixo Ventures Ltd, a UK limited company that is VAT registered. Embroiderers, schoolwear suppliers and promotional merchandise companies with regular work can apply for a trade account, which adds white-label delivery and volume pricing quoted per account. New registered businesses get their first Simple or Medium design free at standard turnaround.
Worked examples: what an order might add up to
These show how flat pricing adds up across files. The tier for each real design is set when we quote, so treat them as illustrations, not quotes.
| Order | Files needed | If priced as | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports club: badge on training tops, puff version for caps | Badge file and a 3D puff file | Medium £15 + 3D puff £15 | £30 |
| Contractor: logo on hi-vis and fleeces, needed today | One left chest file, rush | Left chest £10 +50% | £15 |
| Schoolwear supplier: heraldic crest for blazers, plus a knitwear version | Two crest files | Complex £22 × 2 | £44 |
Once paid for, each file is reused on every reorder, so the cost per garment drops with every batch you sew.
Want the exact figure for your design?
Send the artwork, the garment and the finished size, and we will confirm the tier and price in pounds before any work starts.
Ask for a quote →Why do local embroiderers charge a setup fee?
A high-street or trade embroiderer can’t put your logo on a single polo until it exists as a stitch file for their machine. The setup fee covers that digitising, and most shops charge it once for a design at a given size rather than on each order.
It is worth asking two things before you agree to it. Will you get a copy of the stitch file, so you could use another embroiderer later? And will a cap, a bigger back print or a new garment count as a new setup? Our guide to digitising fees and file ownership includes an email template for asking. Some businesses prefer to buy the file directly from a digitiser and hand it to whichever embroiderer they use.
What pushes the price up?
- Detail and colour count. A one-colour company name is quick to plan. A school crest with a shield, a banner and a Latin motto takes far longer, and every colour change has to be sequenced.
- Technique. 3D puff, appliqué, gradients and very small text all take more planning than clean satin lettering.
- The garment. A cap, a knitted jumper and a thin hi-vis vest each need their own density, underlay and sewing order, which is why cap digitising has its own price.
- Urgency. Jumping the queue costs more almost everywhere. At PlixaLabs rush and super rush add +50%.
Are Fiverr and Etsy sellers cheaper?
Often the listed price is lower, and some sellers are genuinely skilled. For a UK business, the questions are about the rest of the deal: whether the seller can issue a VAT invoice, how many revisions the package allows, and whether the same person will be available when a school or club reorders. Test any marketplace file on the real garment before a run. We compare the two routes in Fiverr and Etsy vs a digitising studio.
What does a bad file really cost?
More than the gap between a cheap quote and a fair one, because the loss lands on your production floor. There is no useful industry average, so work out your own figure:
garments spoiled × cost of each blank + machine and staff time to re-run + paying to get the file fixed + a next-day courier to keep your promise to the customer
Picture a class set of knitted jumpers where the motto closes up, or a batch of hi-vis vests puckered around the logo. Typical causes are thread breaks, fills and outlines that don’t meet, lettering that fills in and untrimmed jump stitches. Already stuck with a problem file? Send it with a quote request: we fix or rebuild broken, auto-digitised or third-party files, quoted after a free file check.
What should a UK digitising quote include?
Line quotes up on these points, not just the headline figure:
- A price in pounds, fixed before work starts.
- A VAT invoice if your business is VAT registered.
- All the formats you use, DST, PES, EXP or JEF, without extra charges.
- Free revisions that don’t expire before your first sew-out.
- A stitch simulation preview you can check, or show your customer.
- A stated turnaround, with a clear price for rush.
- Written terms on file ownership, so reorders are never held up.
The fuller checklist is in choosing an embroidery digitising service. To estimate your own cost, note the finished size in millimetres, the garment and the number of colours, then check which tier fits on our price list.