Patches vs. Direct Embroidery

Customers frequently question whether to use patches or direct embroidery and there is no simple answer as to which is most appropriate. Certainly, direct embroidery onto a garment is a luxurious way to get a logo or message across, however it is extremely expensive. Although there is no exact guide as to which is appropriate, perhaps a look at some of the factors to consider will ease your decision making process.

The first question is a direct cost comparison. In this regard, the patch generally wins hands down. As we manufacture almost all of our patches using the most modern equipment available, we are able to completely assemble the finest quality patch at a mere fraction of the cost of directly embroidering onto a garment. This is simply because direct embroidery is a very labor-intensive process that generally involves taking pre-existing products and running them through a secondary embroidery process. We are able to manufacture patches without considering the product to which they will be applied. With the use of patches it is not necessary to make a preliminary investment in garments or products that may be required over a substantial period of time. Simply put, you purchase the products as you need them and simply apply the patch that has already been made. The patches are also reusable in most situations and therefore the useful life of a single patch may extend through use on several garments. Our customers frequently purchase a supply of patches that will last a year or more to save on production costs and then send these patches as needed to their uniform suppliers as needed. They eliminate the cost of holding inventory in large quantities and sizes in anticipation of need.

The next question is how well the design will reproduce. Here again, we are generally able to do a better job at reproducing your artwork in a patch than could be done by direct embroidery. The reason for this is actually quite simple, as the patches are all digitized for and embroidered onto a twill substrate that is an ideal medium for embroidery. With direct embroidery, the design must be digitized for the specific underlying fabric and different fabrics present different looks when embroidered. When direct embroidery is done on the front of a six-panel cap, the seam in the front is always a problem ? this is not the case when a patch is used.

The detail that we are able to generate in a patch will generally far exceed that which can be done by direct embroidery. In terms of reproducing detail, we have the ability to go anywhere from that which is available by embroidering the patch to the fine detail available by weaving the patch and then to the photographic quality of the dye sublimation patch.

Clearly we at American Patch and Emblem Company have a bias, but hope that the consideration of the above factors will help you make your choice with more insight. If we are able to help you or provide answers to specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail at info@americanpatch.com or telephone at 800-752-1667.

Mary VanHorn, American Patch and Emblem Company, manufacturer of embroidered patches, any patch any purpose. http://www.americanpatch.com

When to Choose Embroidery

TAPE TIPS

Successful digitizing and embroidery

WHEN TO CHOOSE EMBROIDERY

When considering the best method for creating a logo or design on a garment or non-apparel item, keep in mind that embroidery offers a rich, textured appearance that will last for years.

LOCATION

Left and Right Chest - The industry standard for design elements is to have the logo on the left chest and any personalization, such as an employee?s name, on the right chest. Sleeve - You might want to consider adding a logo, design or slogan to the left sleeve to add variety. This would create more visibility for businesses who have a message to display. Back ? below collar (yoke area) is also an area that can add some variety to design placement. One consideration for this area is to avoid designs that could be irritating for the wearer due to backing. Certain designs that require backing may not be advisable. Sometimes, thickness of thread coming through backing can create a great deal of irritation. Left Chest and Hat - If logo is to be placed on left chest or sleeve and a hat, make sure you have separate tapes digitized for each placement. A digitized tape for hats, for example, is engineered differently than for a left chest or sleeve placement, generally being sewn from the middle of the design out.

FABRIC

Typical fabrics for uniforms that would most often contain an embroidered element include cotton twill, pique, denim, cotton/polyester blend and fleece (for jackets).

THREAD

If a garment produced with embroidery is going to be washed in high temperatures and heavy bleach or will have rough use, thread selection is of particular concern. Polyester thread is the best choice in such a situation to avoid fading and bleeding of thread color into the garment.

If the vibrancy of color is important, then rayon is the best choice. Rayon is the traditional choice when a higher degree of luster and shine are wanted. You may have to direct your embroiderer to use rayon as they may have polyester as their standard due to its strength and ability to withstand the sewout process with less breakage than is potential with rayon. Don?t sacrifice the quality and appearance of your design to make it easier to sew out.

DESIGN ELEMENTS

Letter size is an important consideration when creating a digitized design for the embroidery process.

Minimum Letter Height by Fabric:

Pique, Terry cloth, Fleece .?. 1/ 4?

Twill, Most other fabrics ?? 3/16?

MARKETING IDEAS

If you customer has vendors, you might suggest to your customer that their vendor may want to participate in getting shirts produced by having their name embroidered on the shirt (EG: on the sleeve). They may have coop dollars available to subsidize a portion of the cost of the shirt and create a better sales opportunity for you. Home Depot, for example, may choose to have Black & Decker or Porter Paints displayed on their employees shirt sleeves.

Fast Embroidery Tapes http://www.fastembroiderytapes.com

Earning A Living With Embroidery Digitizing

You originally bought an embroidery machine to embroider your own items and to make gifts. Then you buy an embroidery digitizing program as you couldn't find your patterns already digitized. With the cost of the program, the only way you could justify the purchase is to start an embroidery digitizing business.

You make sure you get plenty of practice. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, you learn to hand punch your own design so you can make sure the program is doing the embroidery digitizing the best way possible. After you are sure you know the embroidery digitizing program inside and out, you start embroidering the digitized patterns. You want to have plenty of samples to prove you know how to digitize embroidery patterns.

Once you are satisfied with your digitizing skills and once you feel you have plenty of samples to show, you start thinking about beginning your business.

However there is more to consider. To start a crafting business, you need the same information you need for any other business. You need to write a business plan. That's where you sort out what your plans are for the business. You need to consider advertising, you need to consider what you are going to charge, and you need to have a plan in place for bookkeeping. Like any small business, you need to look at how much competition you will have.

When you consider advertising, you may come up with many ideas. You can find a web designer with skills at search engine optimization. As your embroidery digitizing business is driven by digital files, it will not matter if your customer is not local to you. You can put a business card up at a local coffee shop or other local gathering place. You might decide you want to embroider some items and get a booth at a craft fair. Not only will you be able to sell your embroidered items, you can put out your business card for your embroidery digitizing business. You may decide to start small. You can join an embroidery forum and post there, offering embroidery digitizing services in your signature line with each post.

There are any numbers of other advertising ideas you may decide to follow. Once you have the business plan and advertising ideas in place, you may be surprised to find that your business can grow by leaps and bounds. There are many people out there who do digital embroidery. A good portion of these people are not going to want to learn to digitize their own embroidery patterns. That's where your business comes in.

One final thought, statistics show that when starting a business, the first five years are the toughest to get through financially. Some days it may seem too difficult to stick with it, but if you do, your business will be a money maker.

Sahel is the Sales/Support representative of Cheap Digitizing. You can find more information or ask him questions about Embroidery Digitizing on www.cheapdigitizing.com

The Perfect Embroidery

What makes a perfect embroidered product? Have you ever noticed an embroidered logo or sewn garment? Did it strike you as being a quality produced product, or one that looked like it was mass produced and sewn in a "cheap" fashion?

Nearly 10 years ago I founded my Denver based embroidery company with only one thing in mind - Perfect Products. Finished products that people would notice and want to wear or display. Since then, our business has grown 1000 fold. And we have always kept to our motto of "perfect products, guaranteed quality, satisfied customers".

But what makes a quality, embroidered product? Let's begin with the design before it is sewn to the garment. Was your design created in vector art using Adobe Illustrator? From these "AI" files, we are able to utilize our custom digitizing techniques, which translate to machine readable files and subsequent sew-outs on our Tajima and Barudan Embroidery Sewing Stations. Another important ingredient is choice of color. Why chose a quality embroidered design while selecting a less than desirable color scheme? We use only the pantone color schemes when selecting our sew outs. And speaking of color schemes, what about thread selection? Have you ever considered that some embroidery threads are low-quality, and will break after only a short time in use? Our thread selections only allow for the best thread offerings, including Ackerman and (the German one). Threads are offered in nylon and cotton, depending on the article to be sewn. Make sure your embroidery company selects the appropriate thread, no matter what the color.

All of the above factors will be meaningless unless the digitized image has appropriate stitch count (density) when finally sewing the image. Make sure your design does not come up short when digitizing your image. Many companies will reduce stitch counts during digitizing to allow for less embroidery thread (cheaper) and less dense sewn images (less time to be sewn), all resulting in poor quality finished goods.

We at Corporate Imprints are aware of all the shortcuts, and assure all of our customers that only a quality finished product is our goal. Next time you inspect your embroidered shirt, cap, or other wearable; decide if it was produced with an eye on quality, or an eye on the embroidery company's bottom line. Then call us for a quote and with assurance that once we have earned your business, you will never need to look elsewhere for quality embroidered products.

Tammy Briggs is the owner of Corporate Imprints, a Denver, CO based machine embroidery company. Corporate Imprints offers state of the art in-house machine embroidery, keeping an eye on "Perfection" of finished goods, screen-printing, embossing, graphics consulting and design, and specialized imprinted promotional products (ASI Membership). Visit http://www.corpimprints.com to find out more!

Perfect Backing for Best Looking Embroidery

It is an opinion of all the experts that selection of the perfect backing is the key to achieve the best-looking embroidery. However, this decision is very much personal.

In proportion to cost, embroidery backing is a small investment next to purchasing sewing machinery, but choosing the perfect backing for each project expresses vast difference between a product customers want to buy and one that they do not.

Backing is a non-woven material put behind the garment, which is to be embroidered, holds the fabric firm and does not allow it to move or stretch while the embroidery process is on. Thus backing works as a fulcrum or a strong support for non-woven material.

High-quality backing lengthens the life of the embroidery and improves its looks. Moreover, it increases permanence of the fabric and furnishes stitches more dimensions as thread has more to 'hold on to' as it is sewn. It saves the garment from pressure and friction of the thread and bobbin as it is sewn.

There are some fabrics that do not need backing before doing embroidery, however, like heavy canvas or some woven shirt materials, most do.

The finished product appears much smoother with backing because if no backing is used, particularly on a thin T-shirt, you can get wrinkling. Backing also holds lock stitches tight and prevents them from being pulled out. If stitch tends to get pulled out, it is less expected if you have got backing stabilized the cloth. Backing also makes laundering or dry cleaning last longer.

Backing can also make the machine run more competently and smoothly. Backing helps the needle heat as far as the needle enters the backing. If one has the appropriate backing, one does not get as many thread breaks.

Production of Backings

Embroidery backings are normally fabricated from polyester and rayon fibers that are pressed together to create a non-woven fabric like a paper-sheet.

One cannot define a fixed percentage mixture, but they are composed of polyester and rayon fibres. Processes for fabricating backings hinges on the manufacturer and end users.

John Solomon Inc. and Hollingsworth & Vose both fabricate wet laid backing. To make wet lay, fibers are blended with water and laid on a screen. As the screen ascends, the fibers get dry to form the backing. This is the best form of backing for embroidery for the reason that it is multidirectional - i.e. it does not spread out in any specific direction and it can be torn in any direction. It has an unchanging, even surface, and if you select the appropriate weight, you should require only one layer.

Despite the fact that using numerous layers is a prevalent practice among embroiderers - and in some cases, two layers may be proper - it's generally not the best way to go, as advised by industry wizards.

Use as low-weight a backing as possible. Use a single layer of a medium to heavy backing to hold up rather than taking care of three or four pieces.

It is better not to employ multilayer because of bulk; lot of people in big production houses believe that multi layering is the perfect answer of their problems, but it is just a fallacy.

Backings are also fabricated in carded saturate and random saturate. The fibers in carded saturates are all arranged in one direction. The fibers in random saturates are haphazardly blended.

Which backings to apply

If we ask two or three embroiderers which kind of backing is ideal for which use, and we might receive as many as 10 different answers. Cutaway and tearaway are the two most accepted types of embroidery backings. Both are available in different weights to be used with various weight fabrics.

Cutaway backings are normally a more significant for embroidering sections like soft or very stretchy fabrics, which require more support. They are composed to be clipped from the edges of the finished embroidery. Cutaway backings are for bigger areas like sweatshirts since you have thousands more stitches in the area that is being embroidered. Essentially, when one has smaller areas, one uses backings that tear away. However, the weight of the fabric that one is embroidering also matters.

Since special care is required in clipping close to embroidery, cutaway backings are more time-consuming and it would be an unwise option for large amount of productions. Tearaway backings intend literally to be torn away from the back of the embroidery, and they can be much faster and more effortless to use. They must, however, be used with the appropriate fabrics.

If it is a very light material, sometimes workers or technicians may use a cutaway, because the pressure of tearing might damage the fabric. All embroiders have different opinions about when to use which backing.

There are no hard and fast rules. There are so many variables - machine tensions, thread type, how the operator feels when they wake up in the morning, the weather, and the hooper. It is advisable to use always one layer of backing only. If an embroiderer uses 2000 stitches he prefers lightest weight. Moreover, if embroiderers are doing 15,000 stitches, they do not want to use three layers; it costs them too a large amount of money. Density of their stitches should be in proportion to the number of stitches they do.

The selection of backing is primarily relied on the weight of the fabric. It is recommended that the backing should be slightly lighter in weight than fabric. Both, lightness and heaviness of backing damage the fabric; too light a backing does not give required firmness and too heavy a backing presses down the garment and alters the shape.

Many companies provide lighter weight mesh backing other than standard weights of cutaway and tearaway backings.

As mesh backing is a waffle-weave, some embroiderers like it; it is a very soft backing and it fuses into the fabric after it is cut. Waffle weave does not expose as much in thin fabric.

Since mesh backings are woven, they can be used for embroidering on leather.

Sometimes when somebody embroiders a letter O on vest leather, the O is dropped out. The benefit of a woven backing is that it stitches it back.

Special uses

Adhesive backings are generally used with distinctive hoops or hooping tools.

Those are all fixtures that are fabricated in such a manner that one can put adhesive onto the frame, then put the garment down onto the adhesive backing and it adheres into place while the embroidery is being done, therefore, one does not have to support it. That is for hard-to-hoop items like the rim of a collar or cuff, or for something where one does not want a hoop burn to come forth.

More and more embroiderers are opting for backings that fade away to generate a finely embroidered appearance without the bulk of backings. Water-soluble film, used for years as a topping material, is increasingly common as a backing because it fades away when wet.

The benefit of using it is the complete design comes to be a lot softer. We are inclined to find out a lot in the towel industry, because they require to use topping to keep the stitches from vanishing, but also when they are using it on the back, it appears rather nice without having that typical tearaway left behind. Moreover, any little bits left behind dissolve with the first washing.

It is also used in fashion applications such as wedding costumes. For the moment, it tends not to be used by the big commercial embroiderer who is doing lots of T-shirts or golf shirts. For fabrics that cannot get wet like suede, velvet, corduroy and silk, heat removable backing suits well. The backing fades away with the treatment of a hot iron.

Top it off

Toppings are used on fabrics with loft, texture or nap such as terry cloth, velvet, velour or corduroy to keep the stitches from sinking into the fabric.

The use of topping immensely enhances the appearance of embroidery on any fabric with texture. It may also be applied when embroidery has been carried off and re-stitching is needed. In this case, topping can stop stitches from sinking into holes left by the deleted design. Parts of the topping are left under the embroidered design and as a result, they modify the surface of the fabric that is being embroidered.

What one needs?

To start a new shop and know which backings to store can be a complex question for the embroiderer.

The small shop is advised to focus on maintaining a small inventory of light, medium and heavyweight backings, hence the shop can satisfy the customer's needs no matter which kind of fabric or product the potential customer brings in.

A bigger shop with numerous heads is characteristically embroidering for a specific market section. They would test depending on the runs that they are currently doing and choose the backing that functions most suitably from a performance outlook and a cost perspective. Until and unless the class of product they are embroidering alters suddenly, they will stay with that and then they would put to the test again.

In testing, the shop owner will embroider samples for the customer who then approves or disapproves the quality.

If one uses an inefficient backing, one is not going to have good stitch formation and they are not going to sanction the project.

Shop owners also should decide whether to purchase their backing on rolls or in pre-cut sheets.

If you have number of persons working for you, and you are paying large amount of salary for machine operators, you may come to know that the quickest way to do it is to buy it in cut sheets. On the other hand, you may have somebody who has time on their hands between embroidery that can cut it themselves. You must consider costs.

Tips and Tricks

Some tips and tricks for successful embroidery: If you apply spray adhesive with backing, it keeps the cloth thoroughly flat and not stretched out therefore when you get it out of the hoop, it appears nice, flat, smooth embroidery. It is also much easier to hoop since you are not pursuing a piece of backing beneath the shirt trying to discover if it's in the right place or not.

It is also advised that embroiderers always tell their digitizer in advance what type of garment the design will be stitched on, because the best backing and hooping job will not secure a design planned for the wrong shape.

Finally, experimenting is recommended. Nearly all of the topmost backing suppliers have models on hand.

Stitch out some samples. Check out a couple of diverse backings and a couple of different weights of backing. There are many experts out there, but eventually, if you just give enough time practicing with your device, you will come to know what works best for you.

Sew Special

It is tough task to know whether or when to apply specialty backings. Information provided below can help you decide.

Peel and stick:It is a tearaway backing with a pressure-sensitive coating and a release liner. It has three general uses:
. To make hard-to-hoop applications such as shirt collars and cuffs is easier.
. To stabilize high-stretch fabrics such as bicycle shorts and sweatshirts.
. To eliminate hoop marks that can occur with certain problem materials such as brushed denim and suede.

Caps: Tearaway cap backings are used to enhance the crispness of lettering and columns, specifically with low profile and unstructured caps.

Fusible: Fusible backings can be lastingly fixed to garments with a hand iron and are used for very stretchy and hard-to-hoop materials such as fleece and leather. They can also be used to coat the inside of accomplished embroidery designs that may have a rough surface, such as metallic threads.

Puff: Puff backing is a lofty material used to create a three-dimensional, trapunto or quilted appearance.

Children's sleepwear: Backings whose fiber content meets fire retardant standards.

Black backings: Black backings are used for dark garments where white backing would show and be distracting.

Toppings: Toppings are used to stop stitches from sinking into high profile fabric.

To read more articles on Textile, Fashion, Apparel, Technology, Retail and General please visit www.fibre2fashion.com. If you wish to download/republish the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source?. Also, you have to make it hyperlinked to our site.

Fibre2fashion has emerged as a distinctive B2B platform for global Textile, Apparel, Fashion and Retail and allied industries. Fibre2fashion.com offers business solutions, news, articles and information that help to survive and sustain in the most hostile and competitive business environment.

What Is Machine Embroidery Digitizing?

Machine embroidery digitizing is an art form. Using embroidery digitizing software, a skilled embroidery digitizer transforms an image or text to stitches, creating the image in a file format an embroidery machine can read.

That's a fine definition but the reality is somewhat more involved.

Just as typing words into a word processor does not make one an author, being able to open digitizing software on a computer does not make the operator an embroidery digitizer. Embroidery digitizing is not a click-the-button-and-sit-back process.

Digitizing an image for embroidery requires an artist's ability to see the big picture and the smallest of details. Experienced embroidery digitizers mentally dissect each image, breaking it out into sections and layers, noting how each section relates to the others, how the colors blend and merge and how the shadows play with the light to create the mood or atmosphere the image evokes.

Then the digitizer utilizes the software's tools to separate those sections for redrawing or resizing, stitching in underlay and overlay threads, assigning stitching sequences, using thread to apply shading, and colorizing. The design is reassembled to create that original impression, as much as is possible, in thread and it is ready for its first sew out.

Sometimes digitizing an image to thread is often not possible nor feasible. Thread is three dimensional; it is not oil paint or digital pixels. An embroidery digitizer must have an artist's creativity and problem-solving skills. A digitizer's canvas is the computer monitor, the keyboard and mouse are the brushes and the embroidery digitizer's pallet is the embroidery software.

But the embroider's canvas is the fabric, her brushes are the machine, needles and thread and her pallet is the program produced by the digitizer. The machine is only a robot awaiting instructions and then doing precisely what it is told to do in the order it is told to do it. Ruling out mechanical problems or operator error, if a pattern does not sew out correctly it is not the machine or embroider's fault.

So the digitizer's work is not confined to a computer screen. Knowledge of fabric types and the push-pull factor of each is also required. The embroidery digitizer also needs to know about needles, thread, and stabilizers and, perhaps most importantly, must creatively expand the 'boundaries' of machine embroidery.

A professional embroidery digitizer's attitude is: "Nothing is impossible!"

And that is what makes machine embroidery digitizing a fun and rewarding career!

Deb Schneider is an embroidery design digitizer offering her machine embroidery designs, Redwork designs and appliques on her website: WindstarEmbroidery.com