Understanding Machine Embroidery File Formats

This complete guide covers everything you need to know about machine embroidery file formats. It’ll teach you which file format you need for your embroidery machine and also dive into some essential knowledge that EVERY embroiderer should know by covering the 3 main types of embroidery files formats:

• Expanded file formats
• Machine file formats
• Native file formats

Embroidery file formats are how an embroidery design is saved to be stitched out on a specific embroidery machine brand. Certain embroidery machine brands (such as Brother or Bernina) require different embroidery design file formats (such as PES. or ART.). Simply put:

For an embroidery file format to be read or understood by an embroidery machine, it must speak the native language which an embroidery machine brand recognizes.

Make sense? If not, let me try to break it down.

With computers, we’re all familiar that there are PC computers & Mac computers. As you well know, specific programs and files are created to only run on PC, while specific files are created to only run on Mac. In other words, certain programs & files are proprietary towards either a PC or Mac-based operating system. They only run on one or the other. The same thing goes with embroidery file formats. A certain embroidery file format (example: PES.) is proprietary towards a distinct embroidery machine brand (example: Brother)

At the beginning of my career, there was only a stitch. That stitch made a running stitch, a satin stitch, and then a fill stitch. It all started with a single stitch. That was over 35 years ago, and I must admit much has changed since I began my career as a manual pantograph puncher.

Since those early days, I’ve seen the embroidery industry evolve incredibly. From manually placing stitches, to paper tape readers, to 5 ¼ floppies, and finally, to the world we now live in where all our data is magically stored in an imaginary cloud.

In the early days of embroidery automation, Schiffli looms were run by reading Jacquard paper tapes. Those tapes were the first embroidery file format, and just like today, they worked within a mathematical foundation. The “automat” at the end of the loom fed the tape through its reader. Much like old paper tape music boxes, the reader consisted of pins that would release through the holes on the paper tape and give the machine commands. I would move X or Y (direction), initiate machine functions like needles in or needle out, slow speed or fast speed, dull plate in or out, and a stop/color change command. In many ways, our modern machines work in a very similar way.

(Schiffli Embroidery Machine – what I learned to digitize on)

(Jacquard Paper Tape)

I can remember when I had to learn how to read Jacquard and then eight-channel tapes in the early Tajima days (the 1980s). It’s important to remember that no designs appeared on computer screens with editing capabilities in those early days. Instead, I had to learn how to edit designs while reading paper tapes. While unwinding the tape, you’d know to look for familiar patterns for running, satin, and fill stitches. Color changes and jump commands had fixed commands, and by piecing all of that together, you would learn to read your way through the design you digitized.

If an error was found, you’d need to cut out the tape section with the error, re-punch that section, and then splice the design back together. Usually, you prayed that everything would line up correctly as you wouldn’t necessarily find your error until you ran it on the machine. To be honest, in those days, I never edited a design that was created by someone else. Understandably, the person who made the design was the one who could most easily correct it, as much of the process was remembering what you did in the first place. You’d almost have memory recall as you unwound the tapes, seeing the commands and patterns.

(Converting Jacquard to 8 channel)

(Tajima Machine)

Some of the first expanded formats I used were .dst/Tajima and .exp/Melco formats. These are still in existence today, and almost every embroidery machine, whether in the commercial or home markets, will read one of these two formats. We still supply both these formats when we convert our designs for download (we have close to 30,000 embroidery designs available on our site, click here to browse our designs).

The reason why is that they are what I like the call the written in stone formats. While in the conversion process, they rarely, if ever, get corrupted from the original. Like the originals, they are simply x and y movements and commands. When I convert from my Native file format to a Home format, I notice that there may be a corrupted area. A patterned motif fill looks perfect on-screen but then somehow changes when it embroiders on the actual machine! There are many variables when looking for specific errors, so I always suggest going to the expanded .dst or .exp file.

These expanded embroidery formats don’t mess up; what you see is what you will get, which is the main reason why most people don’t like to use them! They are the smallest embroidery files in regards to data size. Because they only see stitches and commands, they don’t even recognize thread colors.

These files will always set to your machine/software’s default colors, so your pink pigs might default to green if it is the first default color on your machine or within your software program.

Sixteen years ago, when I began my crossover as an educator in the commercial industry to the home industry, I must admit I was just a little overwhelmed. After learning a dozen programs commercially, the home market had a couple dozen more to digest. Most confusing was all the different file formats.

Commercially when we created and sold a digitized design, we had our software’s native format and then gave the customer that (if they owned the same program) or a .dst/.exp format, and that was it! The home industry had a native format for each program and then machine formats in varying versions for all the different machine brands. I went from providing at the most three formats to creating what I call the Top Eleven.

This is what my list looks like now .emb, .dst, .exp, .art, .hus, .jef, .pes, .shv, .vip, .vp3, .xxx.

(Please keep in mind there are many more than listed below)

Machine Brand Embroidery File Format

Janome : JEF.

Bernina : ART.

Husqvarna / Viking : HUS. & VP3. & VIP

Brother / Babylock / Deco : PES / PEC

Singer : XXX

Pfaff : PCD / PCM / PCS

Tajima : DST

Melco / Bravo : EXP

I have to use four different programs to ensure the best conversions for the files we post for download. I’m so paranoid about conversions that I don’t delegate what should seemingly be a simple task to anyone. I still do every design conversion. Yes, I might be a bit of a control freak, but in my defense, but I know what to look for with regards to all the little things that can go wrong when converting designs. I want to be as sure as humanly possible that the conversions are correct when posted. It would be far too costly to run a physical sample of every design eleven times, so it’s best to remain paranoid.

These machine-specific formats are the preferred formats used today as they do retain color information within the designs, ensuring that your pink pig always remains pink!

In the early days of transitioning from the commercial to home markets, I had to deal with one very unhappy customer. The reason being, she called our toll-free number complaining because the design pack called Red Roses she purchased at an event was showing up on her machine as yellow roses, not red. She insisted that she did not like yellow roses. She only liked red roses and demanded that we make them red, or she wanted a refund. I must admit that I was just a little perplexed at her demand.

As I did not come from the home market’s colorful world, we would simply choose a red thread in the commercial market, and the problem would seemingly be solved. I was eventually able to calm her down and convince her to change her machine’s thread color. Although she did put up a good fight, I still smile when thinking back on that conversation.

Unfortunately, the different embroidery machine brands available in the embroidery industry today don’t exactly play well together. Different brands want to be unique and have their own embroidery file format. Why? Because it creates brand loyalty and makes you less willing to switch machine brands in the future.

Think about it this way; if you were to spend five years building a database of a couple of thousand PES. embroidery designs for your Brother embroidery machine, you would likely not want to get a Janome machine down the line as your old PES. designs wouldn’t run on your new Janome machine. Reason being? Janome embroidery machines use JEF. embroidery file formats, not PES. Smart, isn’t it? 

For this reason, if you ever switch machine brands, we provide you with all the main embroidery file formats at once when you download any of our Embroidery Legacy embroidery designs.

Much like anything technology-based, new “updates” are continuously released to make your user experience better. Just as apps are continually updated to perform better on newer phones, embroidery file formats are continually updated to perform better with newer embroidery machines.

As a general rule of thumb, most embroidery machines will still run older versions of their machine file format. For example, a brand new Brother machine would still be able to run .PES designs saved in older versions. If you’re looking to give away or sell a design you created in your embroidery software, using an older file format rather than the newest one would likely be the safest best bet. This would ensure people with older machines can still run your design file.

Native file formats are the formats created within whatever embroidery/digitizing software you own. Many of these formats (depending on the program) cannot be read in any embroidery machine; they are specific to and created within the software program. After creating a design in your embroidery software program as a native file format, you often must then export it to a machine file format to be read/used on your embroidery machine.

People will often import a .pes file into their software and then save it as the software native format, which is not a true native file. It has been converted, and some of the original data may have been lost in translation.

To further explain, it’s like the difference between a raster and vector art file. A raster file, for example, is like a .png file and has a defined resolution; it could be a low or high dpi (dots per inch). If it’s high, the artwork will remain clean when zooming. If it’s a low dpi the image will become a blurred staircase when zooming. The higher the resolution, the clearer the image, the larger the file.

Vector art files, which are often created in Corel or Illustrator, are made up of nodes, not dots per inch. An arch might consist of only three nodes, and whether you put it on a matchbook cover or a billboard, the artwork will always be the same, perfect! You can convert a .png file to a vector file; the software will look at the arch and automatically define the shape. But it won’t do it using only three nodes. It might put in twenty to define the same curve.

Our embroidery software works much in the same way. We have our native file formats created within the software using the original node and properties you chose. If you want to make changes or resize a design, it will always be faster and give better results using the native format over an expanded machine format.

I remember over 30 years ago, the first Native format I used was called Melco .cnd. It was my first board-based system where I didn’t have to create stitches one at a time. The board, called a Digitrac, consisted of a pad that had marks and function keys. Mark 1 was the start of an object, mark 2 was a continuation of the object, and then you move point-counterpoint to define the object and create stitches. Mark 3 had to be perfectly placed with the center radius between your mark 2 to create a curve.

Confusing by today’s standards, but I can assure you it was a miracle at the time! I still remember seeing an embroidery design appear on a computer screen for the first time. My eyes were like saucers, I’m sure! The ability to move a single stitch with a trackball was more than I ever could have imagined.

Today we have intelligent and easy-to-use software available that automatically improves the running ability and stitch quality of designs.

All I can say is we sure have come along way from where my family started in 1958, and I’m so excited to see what is to come!

Yes, you can certainly edit/adjust finished embroidery files within almost any format. One thing to remember though, is that if you want to edit or resize a file, you will always have the best result when using the format native to the software you use.

Yes, you can convert embroidery file formats from one to another. Although most times, the process is not perfect.

Keep in mind that with some conversions, information can get lost throughout the process. Think about it like a game of broken telephone or translating between two different languages. If I told a translator something particular in English, chances are it wouldn’t come out exactly the same when being “converted” into French. Here are a few notes to keep in mind when converting file formats:

• It is often best to convert a native file format (software-specific) into a machine file format (embroidery machine-specific).
• When converting an expanded file format into a machine file format, color information will still be missing.
• Converting between different machine file formats (for example from .PES to .JEF) will often damage your design’s integrity.

If you’re more of a visual learner, here’s a great quick tip video I put together that should help.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel now for more great embroidery tips & tricks!

I know we went over a lot, but the main take away for this article is that there are three main types of embroidery file formats:

• Expanded File Formats: These formats are commercial embroidery machine formats such as .dst and .exp. They are the smallest files in size and mainly consist of simple x and y movements and commands for your embroidery machine to follow. They also do not retain color information.
• Machine File Formats: These file formats are specific towards different embroidery machine brands and tell your machine the commands necissary to embroider designs. They include .jef, .art, .hus, .vp3, .vip, .pes, .pec, .xxx, .pcd, etc.
• Native File Formats: These file formats can not be read by any embroidery machine but can be read and written by embroidery software. These are the best “working files” to edit a design with and are later converted into a machine or expanded file formats to run on your machine.

I hope this article has helped you to better understand the confusing world of machine embroidery file formats. Although there is a lot to grasp at once, the nice thing is that there really are only three main types of embroidery machine formats.

Still have questions about embroidery file formats? Post your question below.