Your Embroidered Logo: DST Files?

What is a dst file? It’s a file format that many commercial embroidery machines read. It tells an embroidery machine what stitches to embroider. It's also known as a “stitch” or a “Tajima format" file after the Tajima embroidery machines it was developed for.

Can anyone open and look at a dst file? No. You need embroidery software that can open that type of file and an understanding of how to interpret the file. Most brands of embroidery software can open dst files because that format is considered to be the universal format for embroidery machines.

Are all dst files created equally? No. The quality level of the file is only as good as the digitizer who created it.

Do “auto digitized” dst files work? They should embroider but the quality level of the embroidery won’t be as good, the embroiderer may have trouble running the file or the file may run inefficiently.

What are some of the problems found in auto digitized dst files? Auto digitized files often use fill stitches rather than traditional satin stitches to fill in areas which can make the design look flat. Auto digitized designs often don’t have any sense of how the design should progress from the beginning to the end so these designs can take longer to run.

How long does it take to learn how to create a good dst file? It can take two years of concentrated study to begin to create good embroidery files and many years to perfect this artistic skill. For more information read What Is Embroidery Digitizing?