How do I place an order for embroidered goods? Seems like a simple question, but with words like digitizing, conversion software, custom logos, typeset logos & stock designs it can be a bit confusing. Hopefully after reading this article you will fully understand how this process works.

The first thing anyone should do is secure their logo and or design. This could mean many things. Do you have a company logo? If so is it in vector format? Is it on a business card or a website? As discussed in a previous article vector is by far the best format. But, if you only have a bitmap image this will work as well, provided a couple of things are adhered to. If your logo is on a business card or a website try to provide as large of an image as possible. This image will have to be remade to work with the digitizing software. Also try to provide the best quality image as possible. If you already have your art work digitized then that will save you a step, but has this artwork been tested with a sample and sew out? Many digitizers do things differently so it is our suggestion that you get your digitizing done at the same place you get your embroidery done. This will ensure a great finished product without any complications. The third option here is to use a “stock design”. This does not mean any old image you find on the Internet or clip art found in many pieces of software available for web design or print work. Stock designs like the ones from http://www.dakotacollectibles.com/ are made with embroidery in mind. These designs are pretested and sewn out to ensure their compatibility with digitizing software and embroidery machines.
With any of the three options above it is essential that we understand the differences in print work and embroidery work. Artwork that is to complicated or with small lettering will simply not turn out well in an embroidery design. This should be thought of when working with a logo anyways. I firmly believe in the K.I.S.S. method, keep it simple stupid. What you are trying to accomplish is logo recognition. You really don’t need to have all the information about your company within a logo. When you see the McDonald’s arches do you need to be told within the logo that its McDonald’s logo? Of course not. This is advertising in one of it’s simplest forms, logo recognition. So keep your logo as simple as possible, as it will be small on a shirt or hat and will be hard to read at a glance. Also text that is smaller then 1/4 inch in height will not look good at all in your finished product. Bottom line is artwork that may look good on a computer screen may not look as good in the sewn format. So think about this as you are designing your logo.

The second step is to determine what type of apparel this embroidery work will be applied to. This in my opinion is just as important as determining your logo. By selecting your apparel and logo you will be starting your corporate identity, so it is of the utmost importance to begin this on the right foot. First question to ask is what type of business am I running? This will determine what type of apparel your employees will be wearing to show off your new logo.

Colors are also of great importance. I cannot say how many times I have seen a great logo that turned out horrible because of the color or style of apparel it was embroidered on. Thats right its time to get the old color wheel out. Remember this from grade school? We have contrasting colors, complimenting colors and one of the newest trends tone on tone. Of course there are many other design possibilities in fact to many to mention in this article. Tone on tone seems to be very popular for a subtle corporate look. This style is done with a solid color shirt or other apparel with the logo being the same color with a slightly different tint. This may seem like it would not show up very well. In all reality the slightest difference in the colors can make the logo stand out. This will provide a very professional look.

The next step will be taking your logo and your apparel to your embroiderer. Depending on who you are using these two steps may be intertwined within the process.
The next big step is to get a sample sew out if this is a first time logo. Most all embroiderers will provide a sample to cover themselves as well as the customer. This sample can be done on a scrap piece of material or on an actual piece of apparel. If this will be done on the actual apparel please remember to provide one extra for this purpose (if you are buying your apparel though the embroiderer then please let them know that you will need a sew out sample. They will more then likely cover the cost of this). There will more then likely be many sew outs while the digitizer is attempting to make your logo work. The final one will be the one needed to be approved.

Once your sew out is approved the job can begin production. Production can take days to weeks depending on the size of the order and the complexity of the logo. Please allow adequate time to allow for a quality product.

And that’s it! This is not a simple process but that if professionally handled can be as painless as possible.

Jacob Schiess started the first commercial embroidery manufacturing establishment in 1848 in New York. He came from Switzerland and within a year had his own embroidery plant in operation. All the stitching was done by hand by fifteen woman stitching exquisite designs by hand.

The development of machine embroidery did not take place until the 1800’s. Joshua Heilmann from Mulhouse worked on the design of a hand embroidery machine. Though he did not sell many, it revolutionized the embroidery industry. Heilmann’s invention was quickly followed by the “shuttle embroidery” and the “chain stitch embroidery” methods.

The beginnings of shuttle embroidery dates back to the 1860’s when Isaak Groebli, from St. Gallen, Switzerland, was inspired by the work produced on the sewing machine.

Around the 1870’s there were fourteen companies manufacturing embroidery machines in Switzerland manufacturing hand loom embroidery machines. Today there are four companies manufacturing schiffli embroidery machines.

In 1873, Alphonse Kursheedt imported twelve of the ten new embroidery hand looms from St. Gallen, making him the first American to use a mechanized embroidery process. The looms used multiple needles and were an unbelievable improvement over the age-old process of stitching by hand. They were, however, powered manually.

Immediately afterwards, Isaak Groebli of Switzerland invented the first practical Schiffli Embroidery machine. This machine was based on the principals introduced by the newly invented sewing machine. Groebli’s machine utilized the combination of a continuously threaded needle and shuttle containing a bobbin of thread. The shuttle itself looked similar to the hull of a sailboat. “Schiffli” means “little boat” in the Swiss dialect of the German language, so his machine came to be known as a schiffli machine.

In 1876, Kursheedt began importing a number of schiffli machines to America, thereby making him the real founder of the schiffli embroidery industry in the United States.

Dr. Robert Reiner, founder of Robert Reiner, Inc., of Weehawken, came to the United States in 1903 in his early twenties. Realizing the potential of the embroidery industry, he persuaded the Vogtlandishe Machine Works of Plauen, Germany, to appoint him it’s American agent. This began a mass importation of embroidery machines into northern New Jersey’s Hudson County. The banks arranged long-term credit to purchasers. Dr. Reiner made it possible for hundreds of Austrian, German, and Swiss immigrants in New Jersey to become manufacturers of embroidery.

The industry grew until 1938, when suddenly the two sources for the manufacture of machines in Plauen, Germany, and Arbon, Switzerland, ceased operation because of World War 2. No additional machines were produced until 1953, when Robert Reiner Inc. introduced the first American-made schiffli machine. Gradually in time, improvements were made to the machine in America as well as in Switzerland and Germany. Today computers are playing a major role in the embroidery process.

Article found at: http://www.articlesbase.com/clothing-articles/embroidery-manufacturing-204007.html

While many needlepoint books and resources insist that the use of a frame is not necessary for most projects, I am unable to imagine working any needlepoint project without one.

There are two important reasons to use a frame for needlepoint. The first and most important reason for using a frame is to prevent the canvas from becoming distorted by the stitches. The second reason supports the first reason. Working with a frame will free your hands, allowing you to maintain an even rhythm as you work the needle up and down through the canvas. This will enable you to keep your stitch tension even. An even stitch tension is the major factor in preventing canvas distortion. Proper stitch tension will allow the yarn to be kept taut around the canvas threads. Stitch tension that is too loose will cause snagging. Stitch tension that is too tight will, again, distort the canvas. If the canvas becomes severely distorted, finishing the project with a wall frame may become impossible.

There are two basic types of needlepoint frames – the round (hoop) frame and the straight frame.

The hoop frame is sometimes referred to as the tambour frame. This round frame consists of two rings (hoops). The canvas or material would be placed on top of the smaller hoop and the larger hoop would then be placed over the smaller hoop (with the canvas) and tightened by an outside screw. The fabric must be kept taut when the larger hoop is screwed in. Hoop frames are suited to fine detailed work (like embroidery) and should be used when working with softer canvases, such as aida cloth or linen. Hoop frames are available in many sizes, from four inches to twelve inches in diameter. They are also available with many attachments that help make working your project a little easier. The most common hoop frame is the Hand-Held Hoop. This is an extremely portable hoop frame and is available in wood, plastic or metal. The Standing Hoop is the basic hand-held hoop attached to a floor stand. These are generally made of wood and can be adjusted for height and hoop angle. The Fanny Hoop is the basic hand-held hoop attached to a flat stand. This hoop stand may be worked on a table. The most common use for the Fanny Hoop is to sit on the flat part of the stand and work your project. This is where the name comes from. It should be noted that the angle of the hoop may not be adjustable with the Fanny Hoop. There are also hoops available with clamps that attach to the side of a table. These are height and angle adjustable.

The straight frame has also been referred to as the slate frame. The most commonly used straight frame is the Scroll Frame. This frame consists of two dowels that fit into two straight sides. The sides are generally secured by screws on each of the four corners. These screws are used to tighten the sides to the dowels. Scroll Frames are especially useful for large pieces. The canvas would be attached (flat-head thumbtacks are best) to each dowel, with the bottom dowel being turned – or scrolled – until the canvas is tight. The sides of the canvas would then need to be attached to the two straight wooden sides. Again, flat-head thumbtacks work best. This pulls the canvas in four directions. Once you have finished working the area that is visible, simply remove the side thumbtacks, unscrew the tightener screws, roll (scroll) the canvas up until you reach the next portion of your piece, tighten the tightener screws and attach the canvas to the sides, again, with flat-head thumbtacks. Another common straight frame is the Stretcher Bar Frame. The Stretcher Bar Frame consists of four straight wooden pieces that are assembled to create a square or rectangle. The canvas is attached to all four straight wooden pieces (flat-head thumbtacks are best, but you may use staples). This frame is available in many different sizes. Be sure to choose a size that is sufficient for your piece. The inside measurements of the frame should be slightly larger than the area of the canvas that is to be worked. Stretcher Bar Frames may also be used to frame the finished piece. As with hoop frames, straight frames have a few attachments available to make your project easier to work. Straight frames may be mounted on floor stands, keeping your hands completely free. The height and angle of the frame are adjustable with floor stands. Some straight frames come equipped with a sit-on stand. Again, the height and angle of the frame are adjustable.

The final decision about working with a frame is, of course, up to you. A list of recommended frames and frame accessories may be found on the right side of the stitchopedia Frames page.
Article found at: http://www.articlesbase.com/hobbies-articles/to-frame-or-not-to-frame-that-is-the-question-206955.html

When you go online to choose an embroidery digitizer, what do you use as a criterion?

There are many companies that advertise online as offering embroidery digitizing services. So many in fact, that you may find it difficult to decide on a company at first.

Currently, if you do a search on Google for embroidery digitizers, your search will return somewhere around 449,000 entries for this one subject. This number includes the sponsored links that come up. Though many would click first on one of the sponsored links, Google hasn’t done any research on the company; the company has simply paid for advertising on Google.

Now, some of your results will be links to companies that sell embroidery digitizing software. If you have no interest in trying to digitize your own embroidery patterns, then you have no need for the links to the software companies. Ignoring those will bring down the number of companies that you will can consider when you choose an embroidery digitizing company.

Where you will want to start with your comparison of the embroidery digitizing companies is with the prices and the turnaround. Some companies will offer a fast turnaround (starting at 24 hours). Some will not advertise a turnaround at all for their embroidery digitizing services. You may need to email the company to find out what their turnaround rate is. Just because they don’t advertise it on their website does not mean that it is going to be a longer turnaround time than some of the other companies that do advertise their turnaround time on their website.

The next place you will want to look is at how much the company is charging for their embroidery digitizing service. Prices can vary greatly, and you need to decide on what you feel is a fair price for you to pay. You will probably want to comparison shop to come up with the price you are willing to pay. In some cases, you may get a bulk discount. For example, if you have four images that you are wanting to have digitized into embroidery patterns, then the company may give you a discount for having them do all four of the patterns.

The final thing you will want to look at when choosing an embroidery digitizing company is at the quality of their work. Most companies have examples of the items they have digitized on their website. If their examples aren’t up to the standards you want for your digitized embroidery pattern, then you should probably look at a different embroidery digitizing company to digitize your embroidery pattern.

Keep in mind, once you decide on the company that you are going to use for your current project, you may still want to comparison shop each time that you have another embroidery pattern digitized.

Article found at: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_3684.shtml

However, how does such an embroidery design get onto caps, pullovers or pockets?

At the beginning stands the idea of a design, mostly in the form of a company logo together with a slogan. If the idea only exists on paper, the design must be digitized into computer readable data. This takes place e.g. through reading in with a scanner. Then if the motif is available as a file, it must be converted into vector graphics. In this case, individual pixels are no more determining for the design but the lines, which separate a color field. One recognizes vector graphics also by the fact that one is able to enlarge them infinitely without quality loss, because the dividing lines always remain sharp.

These vector graphics are loaded into the punch program. The semantics of the word is to be traced back to the procedures before the computerized embroidery program creation where the commands were still pricked by hand in a punch card made of hard paper.

The puncher on the software decisively determines the quality of the finished stitch content. Here there are dozens of parameters such as stitch density, stitch direction, stitch distance, stitch pattern and the precedence of stitch work correctly on the motif, the embroidery machine and the textiles to be embroidered. Thus a cap requires a different embroidery program than a leather jacket, even if it concerns one and the same embroidery motif.

Not without reason there are companies which have specialized one and only in the production of the embroidery motifs.

Then if the embroidery program is ready, it is transmitted either by network, direct connection or floppy disk to the embroidery machine.

Again also in the embroidery machine there are different parameters which can improve the embroidery result or make it worse. The most important ones here are above and under thread tension and embroidery speed.

Then the real conversion of the program into the textile embroidery is only routine. The embroidery machine is made, in principle, just like a normal house sewing machine, many components, e.g. the under thread guidance looks very similar.

The essential difference is the amount of needles, which reaches from 6 up to 18 automatically changing needles and therefore usable colors in one motif.

Then when the motif is constructed, a quick change of the embroidery piece can be done, which makes the embroidery very interesting especially for bigger works orders. Bigger embroidery machines are so-called multi head machines, here i.e. up to 24 embroideries are done at the same time. This increases the economic efficiency and therefore makes the price per piece more attractive.

With the use of the finished product there are hardly any restrictions. Therefore, work clothes are embroidered with pleasure. Also clothes that needs chlorine laundry, like for example doctor’s smocks can be permanently improved with special sewing cotton.
Article found at: http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_7420.shtml

One of the most common applications of embroidery is the customization of sports apparel such as adding logos or names to warm-up uniforms, gym bags, or similar items. When a team customizes their warm-ups or uniforms using embroidery, it creates a sense of unity and gives the team a sharper, more professional look. A significant percentage of customers who shop RobbinsSports.com for sports apparel want to have more than just a blank warm-up jacket or a plain duffle bag. To complete their décor, they know that signing their sportswear with their team’s logo is imperative. However, especially for those who have been given the charge of outfitting the team for the first time, the details of what’s involved in adding embroidery to their order are not clear. Here is some helpful information for understanding the process and the pricing for adding customized embroidery to your next sports apparel purchase.

Artwork

If you just want to add personalized names to the left chest of a jacket or to the side of a gym bag, you won’t have to worry much about artwork. However, if you need to have a logo (usually these are done as left chest or full back arrangements on jackets or placed on the side or end of a duffel bag) added to your sports apparel, you should come prepared with a digital copy of the logo you want to use. Most embroiderers charge an artwork fee for any significant changes they have to make to your logo to get it ready for digitizing (see below). If you want your embroiderer to start from scratch to create your logo, be prepared to pay about $100.00 or more, depending upon the complexity of the logo you want.

Digitizing

Digitizing involves transforming a digital image into a file that can be read and interpreted by an embroidery machine. Typical charges for this are about $10 per thousand stitches. So how do you know how many stitches your logo has in it until you get it digitized? Most digitizers can give you a pretty good estimate before they begin digitizing your logo. Getting an estimate on the cost of digitizing your logo will help you keep your expenses within the range you expect when you actually place the order.

After you have had a logo digitized, be sure to keep a copy of it on file for the organization you’re representing. Doing so will enable the team to avoid the digitizing expense when placing future orders. Digitizing can become expensive quickly, especially if you are only placing an order for a small number of uniforms, so it’s obviously best to try to avoid that overhead.

Pricing

Pricing with embroidery is most often done based upon the stitch count of your logo, which determines the time it takes for any particular embroidery machine to complete the logo. Usually embroiderers give price breaks according to the quantity you are ordering. Of course the pricing varies from one company to another. Here are some benchmarks. If you want to have a left chest logo put onto a typical windbreaker jacket and you are ordering twelve of them, you’ll likely pay about $5.00-$6.00 per embroidered logo for logos that are under 7,000 stitches. If you are ordering less than that quantity, you may find that your embroiderer charges a setup fee as well. Pricing beyond 7,000 stitches usually goes up on a per thousand basis. You can normally expect to pay an additional $0.50-0.60 per thousand stitches beyond 7,000.

For an order of hundreds of jackets compared to just ten or twelve, you should get a price break from your embroiderer. Most companies will go down to a threshold price (say for instance $3.00 per logo for a 7,000 stitch logo) based upon a certain quantity – say 200 articles. Beyond that number of embroidered logos, the pricing will stay the same no matter how many more you have done.

Lead Times

We find that many of our customers contact us in a rushed hurry, often times asking for miracles. Many times we are able to meet their demands. However, to be a preferred customer, it is best to allow one and a half to two weeks for your order to be embroidered and delivered. Most embroiderers don’t keep an inventory of all the products listed in their catalogs, so you need to plan a few extra days to have those shipped from the manufacturer to your embroiderer. Planning ahead can save you and your embroiderer a lot of headache and stress.

Richard Robbins is one of the owners of Robbins Sports, a retailer of sports apparel and accesories such as gym bags, sports uniforms, and warm-up outfits.

Article found at: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Robbins