Thank you for the information. I'm going with practice practice and identifying the directions so as to not cause too much pull in the same directions. Thanks again. Alan and Margaret Jannuzzi Wishes in Stitches Embroidery 4502 W Buffalo, Chandler Az. 85226 480-216-3163 -----Original Message----- From: amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of E. Orantes Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 3:42 PM To: amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [amayausers] Re: digitizing Alan and Margaret Jannuzzi, I've been digitizing now for two years but if you take out all the other things I do, I've really only been at it straight for about one year. Since I started, I digitize a design and name it "file name 1". After I sew it out, I wind up making a change and with the new changes, save and name it "file name 2". And so on and so on. I do this incase "file name 8" runs much worse than "file name 7" - then I can quickly go back if I have to. Some of my earliest designs were up to version 11 or 12. Now I'm down to only about 4 or 5 versions per design. But then again, I'm a perfectionist. I still don't think the Amaya with it's pro-active feed system is going to sew the same as say the Melco EMT machines with the retro-active thread tension. So I tend not to compare my designs with the same design that was digitized for and was sewn on a conventional machine. For instance, we have a digitizer, who we have been using less and less of since I've been getting better, who uses Melco software and has a EMT machine to do his sew-outs. When he sends us the bill, he also sends us his sew outs that were done on two layers of cutaway backing. His work always looks great but he has been doing it for 15+ years or so. He also charges 12 bucks for every 1000 stitches. So in the beginning, I was trying again and again to get my work to look like his, sometimes taking 10 or more tries to get close. I just kept telling myself all those late night hours were the equivalent of going to school. Taking a class on digitizing is a very good start however you have to know fabrics, hat's or flats, machine types and capabilities, and of course all the different stitch types and then configure all the different possible combinations there are. Once you know all these by heart, you should be able to get it right the first go around and do it in a fraction of the time it takes you now. That's what really ticks me off about the sales staff -telling folks all you have to do is hit the auto digitize button and away you go. Yeah, away you go to learning digitizing. (I've had feedback from many o'customers on this subject.) I know it's not all of them. :) But I'm determined and persistent and I do get a lot out of this group so thanks to all for your input. Fortunately I learned early on about "artistic license". What I mean is that you may not always digitize exactly what the customer gives you. Sometimes they may not even notice the difference, say if the lettering is slightly larger or the font is very close but not exact. But there will be times when you have to tell the customer that you just can't duplicate everything on the business card, or there just won't be as much detail on a left chest as there is in the 8.5" x 11" artwork they supplied. One of the hardest areas for me and I'm sure for others is to get small lettering to look good on knit or pique' golf shirts. I delivered some shirts yesterday to a customer and he asked it I could "work on it" for the next order as he showed me a shirt from the last guy he used. And I have to say, it looked a lot better than mine. Because of the sinking of the stitches into the fabric, the small lettering was distorted looking. I used one layer of solvy on top and two layers of cutaway on the back. Now I'm wondering what it would have looked like using more than one layer of solvy. Practice, practice, practice. When I get it down to one or two versions to get it right, I might then consider selling my digitizing, but as for now, I only do it for myself. Good luck to you. Ed Ed & Maralien Orantes E.M. Broidery 900 Terry Parkway, Ste. 200 New Orleans, La. 70056 504-EMBROID ery (504-362-7643) -----Original Message----- From: amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:amayausers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Alan & Margaret Jannuzzi Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 6:40 PM To: Amaya Users Subject: [amayausers] digitizing Dear List: My question is to those people who a lot of experience with digitizing. I have been trying to get a design suitable for sewing on fleece blankets but each time I stitch it out there is an adjustment. Is this common? When you digitize something does it take 2 or 5 or 12 sewouts to get it right? I know that the computer screen doesn't always look like the stitch out. I have done 6 stitch outs but feel I am beginning to use a great deal ofthreadinthatthisisalargedesign.Thanks Alan and Margaret Jannuzzi Wishes in Stitches Embroidery 4502 W Buffalo, Chandler Az. 85226 480-216-3163