Der Digitalisierungsprozeß

The editing as part of the digitization process

Sometimes 10 puncher sit on the same project and accordingly you also get 10 different results of a digitization that is based largely on artistic interpretation. However, everyone agrees that machining problems are always part of the embroidery process. Here we are only talking about „quality“ questions or problems, not about the artistic interpretation. 

So why is the editing of a logo part of the production process?

Embroidery designs are known to be a bit tricky due to many factors. These are sometimes not obvious to the punchers until the logo is then embroidered. This means that even the best, designed program has to be adapted to unexpected circumstances.

Factors that can influence a design:

Material / Fabric The design sewn on – unfortunately we do not always have all the fabrics available in the market. The nature of the fabric plays an important role and can dramatically affect the quality of an embroidery. This is most noticeable in materials that have a large expansion (like the new moisture wicking performance materials).

These can not be stretched, like a wide cloth, dress or T-shirt. It is important for us to know which material is used. Otherwise, we use the „general“ settings for a wide range of tissue properties. And as you may have expected, this does not always work and changes are required.

Hats Programming – If we (or other punks) are not exactly the same hat you are; we work with the exact same frame system:

  • in the same mechanical state
  • the same speed and
  • the same tension.

Hats are very hard to embroider and digitize. Therefore  , a fine adjustment necessary for the program should be made. 

The right kind and the use of back – A big  mistake is that material does not stabilize properly. Some have even used plastic bags as carrier material. It is extremely important to use and use the right substrate.

Never use two different backing materials. Instead of using two layers of a light carrier, use a heavier carrier. Certainly, the more robust carriers are a little more expensive, but not twice as expensive.

It’s alright, if you do not want to stock up on more than 20 different types of underlay, you do not need it either. As a minimum, however, you should have a 4th middleweight tear off flap, one light, medium and one heavy. There are also a lot of other special backings, but that’s a completely different topic.

What else? – You should always clamp 100% of the substrate in the frame. You will not stabilize a garment if you have a 5 inch hoop that clamps a three inch strip over the middle of the stirrup. 

The worst thing is not to rip the back at all and then just push it under the tires. And not all products need a carrier (eg nylon bag). The reason for using a carrier is that the tip material is stabilized.

A few basic rules to note:

  1. There is no such thing as a single carrier for all eventualities.
  2. In general, it means: the less the upper material stretches, the lighter the backing material.
  3. Filled designs typically require a heavier backing to support the top embroidery.
  4. Lighter fabrics require lighter straps, but this needs to be balanced with the design features.

Mostly a design on a knit shirt needs to be programmed specifically for the material to achieve the desired result. 

Tension – The operator controls the thread tension on the machine. If the thread tension is issued, one has a bad stick quality. Bad settings can trigger a number of problems:

  • bad filling
  • no good borders
  • Yarn breaks and a few other unpleasant things.

A bad digitization can cause a lot of problems and lead to twisting of the thread (99.99% due to poor tension) and broken needles. Broken needles are usually the result of a number of other problems. It happens if you do not pay attention to the settings. The needle breaks with us, if an embroidery file is very bad. 

If the needle always breaks at the exact same spot on ALL stick heads (not just one), then it will certainly be due to the embroidery file. If only a particular head of a needle breaks on a multi-head machine, then it is almost certainly a mechanical problem.

  • Machine Maintenance – Poorly maintained machines produce bad embroidery. Our machines comply with the latest standards and run 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. The machines are new and produce excellent results.
  • Operator Ability – Poorly trained operators produce bad embroidery, no matter how well a design is digitized. It is up to the operator to make the right decisions in this regard, and it is up to us, as entrepreneurs, to properly train our employees.
  • Superior embroidery requires superior digitizing. Each embroidery project is different and the technique (digitizing) should be adapted accordingly. (Fabric, machine, carrier, etc.). SmartPunchen does not calculate this type of change. The only thing to keep in mind is that editing is part of the digitization and production process.

If you have questions or suggestions for a blog topic, just write us a message to order@smartpunchen.de  or just try us out. Smartpunchen offers advance to implement a logo completely free of charge. So you have the opportunity to test us once.