- A JPG, PNG or PDF logo is artwork. A machine runs a stitch file, and a person has to build one.
- The file is built for a garment and a size, so a school jumper, a fleece and a cap can each need their own version.
- Once you have a good file, you reuse it on every reorder, which is why it pays to get the first one right.
- PlixaLabs prices each file flat in pounds, from £10, with files back in 4–8 hours at standard turnaround.
Where does digitising fit in a typical UK order?
Picture a schoolwear shop that has just won a new primary school. The school office emails over its crest, lifted from the website as a small JPG. The shop needs that crest on blazers, knitted jumpers and PE polos before the new school year.
- The artwork arrives. Usually a logo from a letterhead, a website or the club’s social media page.
- The embroiderer checks it. Their machine can’t sew a picture, so the crest has to be digitised first.
- A digitiser builds the file. They decide the stitches, the order they sew in and how they suit each garment at badge size.
- A test garment is sewn. Any problem, such as a motto that fills in, goes back to the digitiser for a revision.
- The file goes into the library. Every reorder, next term or next year, runs from the same file, so the badges match.
Swap the school for a building contractor ordering hi-vis vests, a rugby club ordering training tops or a promotional merchandise company printing a client’s name on caps and bags, and the steps stay the same.
Artwork files and stitch files: what’s the difference?
| Artwork (JPG, PNG, PDF, AI, EPS, SVG) | Stitch file (DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it stores | Shapes and colours, as pixels or vector paths | Needle positions, jumps, trims, colour stops and an end command |
| Who uses it | Designers, printers, sign makers | Embroidery machines and the people running them |
| Can a machine sew it? | No | Yes, in the format that machine reads |
| Can it be resized freely? | Vectors, yes | Only a little before stitches need rebuilding |
One detail catches people out: not every stitch format carries thread colours. Brother’s UK support pages note that DST, the Tajima format read by most commercial machines, holds no colour information, so send your thread list with the file. The file formats guide goes format by format.
Worked example: one crest on four garments
Here is why a good digitiser asks what the logo is going on before starting. Take one school or club crest, about badge size, and four garments a UK supplier might sew it on.
| Garment | How the fabric behaves | What the file needs |
|---|---|---|
| School blazer | Heavy, stable woven cloth | Crisp satin edges and detail simplified for badge size, so the motto still reads |
| Knitted jumper or cardigan | Thick, textured and slightly stretchy | Firmer underlay so stitches sit on top of the knit instead of sinking in |
| Polyester PE top | Light and very stretchy | Lighter density and more compensation so the fabric doesn’t pucker or pull |
| Hi-vis vest | Thin polyester with reflective tape | Light stitching, and a logo placed clear of the reflective tape |
Many buyers expect one file to cover all four. It sometimes can, if the design is simple, but a crest with fine detail usually sews better from files built for each fabric. See schoolwear digitising, workwear digitising and hi-vis embroidery digitising for garment-specific notes.
What is actually inside a stitch file?
Behind every sewn badge are a handful of choices made by the digitiser. Get one wrong and it shows on the garment.
| Choice | What it controls | When it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Stitch type | Running stitch for fine lines, satin for lettering and borders, fill (tatami) for larger areas | Satins that are too long snag in the wash; fills in thin shapes look ragged |
| Density | How tightly rows of thread are packed | Too open and the fabric shows; too tight and the badge goes stiff or breaks thread |
| Underlay | A light foundation layer sewn before the visible stitches | Stitches sink into fleece, towelling and knitwear, and edges lose their shape |
| Pull compensation | Extra width to allow for fabric being drawn in as it is sewn | Round shapes sew as ovals and lettering comes out thin |
| Sewing order and trims | Which part sews first, and where the thread is cut | Fabric shifts, outlines miss their fills, and loose threads need snipping |
| Locking stitches | Small tie-ins and tie-offs at the start and end of each section | Threads work loose, which shows fastest on uniform that is washed every week |
The Ink/Stitch documentation describes underlay as a first layer that supports the stitches on top, which is a good way to think of it. None of these settings has one right value; each depends on the thread, the fabric and the finished size.
Got a crest or logo waiting?
New registered businesses can have one Simple or Medium design digitised free, at standard turnaround. A business email address is needed to claim it.
See how the free first design works →Is auto-digitising good enough?
Auto-digitising means software traces an image and generates stitches by itself. Manual (hand) digitising means a person places each stitch object and sets how it behaves. Plenty of programs offer both: Hatch Embroidery lists automatic and manual tools side by side.
For a bold, two-colour wordmark, an automatic file can be passable. The software doesn’t know the badge is going on a knitted jumper or a hi-vis vest, though, so fine lettering, stitch angles and underlay are where it tends to fall down. Can AI digitise embroidery? looks at this properly.
At PlixaLabs, every file is digitised by hand by our employed team at Zorixo Creations Private Limited in Bengaluru, India, and a second person checks each file before it is delivered.
What should I send a digitiser?
The more a digitiser knows about the job, the fewer revisions you need. A good brief covers:
- The best artwork you have. Vector is ideal; a sharp PNG or a straight-on photo of an existing badge often works too.
- The garment, described plainly. “Navy knitted V-neck jumper” tells a digitiser far more than “top”.
- The finished size in millimetres, and the placement: left chest, sleeve, cap front or back yoke.
- Your machine format, such as DST for most commercial machines or PES for Brother.
- Thread colours, especially where a school or club has set colours.
Not sure the logo will embroider at all? Start with Do I need to digitise my logo?
Should I learn to digitise or buy the files?
If you run your own machine and enjoy the technical side, learning is possible. Ink/Stitch is free and open source and runs inside the Inkscape editor, while Embrilliance StitchArtist and Hatch Embroidery are paid options aimed at smaller users. Budget for plenty of test sew-outs while you learn; the step-by-step logo guide shows what is involved.
Most embroidery businesses buy their files instead, because machine time is better spent on paid orders. Whichever route you take, open a new file in the free DST file viewer to check its size, stitch count and colour stops before it goes near a customer’s garments.
What does it cost at PlixaLabs?
Each design gets one flat price in pounds, set by its type and complexity rather than by stitch count. All machine formats, a stitch simulation preview and unlimited revisions come with every file.
- Simple design: £10
- Medium design: £15
- Complex design: £22
- Cap: £12
Standard files take 4–8 hours. If a deadline is tight, rush (2–4 hours) or super rush (1–2 hours) adds +50%. Invoices come from Zorixo Ventures Ltd, a UK limited company (company number 15975548), which is VAT registered. The full price list has every design type, and how much digitising costs in the UK compares the other ways it is charged.
Questions UK buyers ask about digitising
Sources
- Brother Support: types of embroidery data that can be used (checked 16 September 2026)
- Ink/Stitch documentation: fill stitch, underlay and pull compensation (checked 16 September 2026)
- Hatch Embroidery product information (checked 16 September 2026)