Offshore digitizing vs USA digitizing
We all forget that embroidery is an art. It is not a conflagration of computer commands to produce an embroidery program. The computer will duplicate anything that is programmed into it. The computer has no ability to figure out what will work or what will not work. This is the challenge of programmer vs digitizer.
The problem with embroidery is that too many companies are getting too technical but forgetting that this is actually an art. This problem results from not spending the time to train digitizing personal.
The Embroidery Process
The key is to first understand the embroidery process. This is why the best digitizing in the world is done in the Far East. Most companies have at least a one year training programs which starts with a candidate working in the factory on an embroidery machine. Loading designs, changing thread, and applying the correct backing. This gives the trainee the insight to learn how a design is produced mechanically.
Trainee Advances to next level
The candidate then advances to spending time editing the work of a fellow trainee and then finally advancing to his own cubical with as a junior digitizer. At this stage of the training cycle the candidate is closely supervised while he is in training. This includes for every program that he digitized he now has to go to the production floor and run the program. The goal is to produce a program with no tread breaks and uses a minimum amount of thread.
Standards are set and the candidate must meet them before being advanced to the next level of his or her career.
In the United States labor is too costly
In the United States the cost of labor prevents small embroidery companies from having any reasonable training program. Companies like to do it on the cheap. Why buy pay for outside digitizing when I can buy a software program and do it myself.
Embroidery software companies are in the market hyping software which they claim will work right out of the box. They claim a couple days training and you will become a digitizer as good as someone who has been in the profession for 30 years.
Northwest Custom has a master digitizer on staff who edits all programs coming from outside contractors. This process creates a high level of productivity and eliminates any training program which would be suspect. The goal is to focus on embroider and not digitizing.
