Digitizing - Step by Step

An Online Extra to Threads magazine

Digitizing, Step by Step

To see how digitizing machine-embroidery designs works, click your way through this slide-show demonstration

by Richards Jarden

Learning how to digitize designs for machine embroidery will open up a whole new world of embellishment possibilities. To become familiar with your software and to master the basics of planning the stitching sequence, start out with a simple design, such as a single-color, satin-stitched monogram.

			Digitizing Demo (opens in new window)

In this slide show, I demonstrate the way I determine how a monogram--one I designed -- should be embroidered and how I get the embroidery machine to understand my decision. As you click from step to step, you'll see that I planned a stitching sequence with no long jump stitches between one area of the design and the next, and each section of the design is completely embroidered before moving to the next section. Figuring out the best sequence is a little like working out a maze: It can be a challenge, but it's also fun.

By eliminating jump stitches and repeated repositioning of the needle, I reduced the chances of thread breakage, ensured that all the sections of the monogram are neatly connected, and ensured a speedy, efficient stitching process. Your embroidery will be neater and more efficient if you digitize thoughtfully. I've found that it's well worth spending time on this step to get great results easily when embroidering.

Richards Jarden digitizes monograms professionally. Read his article "Digitize and Stitch Your Monogram" in the April/May 2002 issue of Threads, and visit him at www.embroideryarts.com.

Slide show: Richards Jarden

Laser Etching

Laser Split Front Applique

Sequin Embroidery

Heirloom Stitching

Heirloom Stitching

All About Embroidery Digitizing

Embroidery is a re-origination art on the woven fabrics, but it is not only augment of stitches and colors. It many produce a whole new sense, an art with woven, color and multiple stitches, certain outline and significance. Embroidery can invent arras, flower edge, pictures, theme, story and so on with stitches, scissors and printing fabric.
About

Finishing - Any of a number of procedures-thread trimming, removal of excess backing or topping, spot or soil removal or steaming to remove hoop marks-that are performed between completion of embroidery and packaging for customer.

Flagging - As needle moves up and down, substrate may also move up and down against the machine bed (resembling a waving flag), causing birdnesting and poor design registration; typically due to poor presser-foot adjustment or improperly stabilized fabric.

Hook or rotary hook - A circular device which spins around the bobbin case with a pointed arm protruding from its body-the hook; is instrumental, in concert with the needle and upper thread, in forming stitches.

Professional custom embroidery digitizing, embroidery designs, customized logo digitizing and artworks for all kind of fabrics, textures and apparel by experienced designers, embroiderers, digitizer from textile and embroidery industry. We possess latest in digitizing technology and equipments with the proven skills of accomplished commercial artists, designers, digitizer, embroiderers which provides the highest quality designs and embroidery digitizing in the industry. We committed to delivering high quality embroidery digitizing services tailored to meet your needs at low cost

Define Embroidery

Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle. Embroidery may also use other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Sewing machines can be used to create machine embroidery.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embroidery

Google Won't Remove that Page You Don't Like, But You (or Your SEO) Can

Google's head of web spam (a division of the engine's search quality division) recently posted a piece entitled, Why Google Won't Remove That Page You Don't Like. An excerpt:

Every few weeks or so, someone contacts me and says “Hey Matt, there’s page out on the web about me that I really don’t like. Is there any way to remove it from Google’s index?” People don’t usually say it like that. More likely, they say “There’s this person making crazy claims about me on the web, and the stuff they say is just off-the-wall. Can Google remove this crazy person’s page?”

In a standard follow-up email, two options for removal are offered:

The best actions for you from our perspective can be one of a couple options. Either contact whoever put up webpage B and convince them to modify or to take the page down. Or if the page is doing something against the law, get a court to agree with you and force webpage B to be removed or changed. We really don’t want to be taking sides in a he-said/she-said dispute, so that’s why we typically say “Get the page fixed, changed, or removed on the web and then Google will update our index with those changes the next time that we crawl that page.”

Unmentioned in the post is a third method - one that involves a lot of hard work, diligence and often, high expense, but it's usable and useful for businesses and individuals who run into this issue. In the SEO field, we call it "reputation management."

A reputation management campaign has three basic components:

1. Identify which search queries (keywords) produce prominently listed, undesirable results (typically this is only the top 10 - aka Page 1)
2. Create content on multiple sites with the intention of outranking the negative content (remember that, in general, Google will only list a maximum of two pages from a single domain on a given results page)
3. Optimize those pages with content & links to achieve rankings higher than the negative content, thus "pushing it down" to the 2nd page of results (or further)

This is generally considered one of the toughest tasks in the SEO field. You're not only fighting for rankings on (up to) 10 different sites/pages or more, you're also competing against what many feel is a strong algorithmic component in Google's engine - QDD (Query Deserves Diversity). QDD is believed to impact the types of results Google prefers to show ranking in the top 10, and biases away from strict algorithmic "strength" (i.e., link juice, anchor text, optimization) and towards showing a variety of different pages (positive and negative sentiment analysis is suspected by some to be a component here, hence the potential impact on reputation management campaigns).

So, how do you do it? How can you create content to successfully outrank a negative result?

First off, you'll want to leverage as many positive "pre-existing" conditions as possible. These include:

• Exact Keyword Term/Phrase Domain Name Matches
  By owning/optimizing a keyword-match domain name, you leverage the inherent boost these sites receive in Google's ranking algorithm. For example, if someone were writing mean things about the author F. Scott Fitzgerald and I were running the reputation management campaign, I'd certainly push for optimization/ranking of the domain fscottfitzgerald.com to be part of the strategy. This is valuable only to a point, though, as it appears (in campaigns we've worked on and talked to other about) that it's much harder to rank multiple sites of this ilk (for example, having fscottfitzgerald.net, fscottfitzgerald.info, etc).
• Authority Domains
  Using or creating content on high value, authoritative domains like Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter and other user-generated-content portals can be a very powerful strategy. You not only leverage the pre-existing strength of the domain for getting that content crawled and indexed, but can lean on the "authoritative domain" bias that Google shows in their rankings. Note - don't use Wikipedia for this, as they are more likely to find & report the negative pieces (if it's a prominent name/brand worthy of inclusion) or simply delete the article (if it isn't).
• Pages Already Ranking Well for the Query
  In most cases where reputation management is necessary, there are already pages ranking in the top 10-20 results that are positive or neutral in content and therefore potential targets for optimization. Although you may not control these pages or be able to optimize on-page factors, pointing links with optimized anchor text to them can nudge up their rankings and help you achieve your goal.

From these three basic tenants, you can form the basis for the list of tactics employed to start a reputation management campaign, but there are a number of other smart methodologies I like, including:

• Press releases that actually get picked up by major media and wire services
• Pay-per-post blogging that leverages the keywords in the title of the posts (not to be used for link acquisition, as this can get you penalized)
• Creating linkbait that leverages the keyword terms/phrases (this doesn't have to be on your site or even use the subject matter)
• Sponsoring charitable donations in "honor" of the brand/person's name that will get press attention
• Build multimedia content that can potentially get listed in vertical results (videos & news results are typically most effective)

Because reputation management campaigns are so tremendously challenging, you should be prepared for exorbitant costs. We've pitched contracts in excess of $100,000 for these types of services (obviously, not many takers), and know other firms regularly charge $50,000 and up. Even at those price points, the expenses can outweigh the work done. In a pay-for-performance contract from an industry colleague, they charged over $80,000 but ended up losing money on the deal as the time, effort and expenses added up to nearly $100,000.

I was asked recently what I'd do if I had unlimited budget for a reputation management contract. My answer - pay for a Hollywood film to be created titled with the keywords/name that needed the push. At times, the best attack is simply to go around the problem :-)

Some good additional resources include:

• 10 Ways to "Own Yourself Online" from Todd Malicoat
• 10 Strategies for Fixing Negative Google Results from Andy Beal
• Make it Look Natural from Joost De Valk
• Tips for Rep Management from Chris Bennet
• 8 Tactics for Rep Management the Easy Way from Jaan Kanellis

Sometimes, you can pursue one of the strategies Google recommends (or simply avoid trouble on the web), but if not, reputation management SEO is always an option.

Backlink Anchor Text Analysis: Powered by Linkscape

NOTE: this is an announcement of a PRO-only tool. If you're not PRO you can take a peek at what you're missing :)

With the launch of our SEOmoz Labs initiative we have some freedom to quickly launch data and tools which either introduce something new and powerful (like Blogscape) or highlight improvements and mashups of tools and data we've already got. Today we're launching a retooled Backlink Anchor Text Analyzer, powered by Linkscape.

We've long relied on Linkscape for anchor text and backlinks over the traditional tools (such as Yahoo! Site Explorer). With our latest and greatest index update, we have statistical evidence to support that long experience. Recall our excellent, improved and improving external link coverage:

This new tool provides much of the same functionality you've probably grown accustomed to, like anchor text distributions:

Of course, we've also got links, along with a little extra Linkscape data: mozRank passed. This will show you the links which are contributing the most to your global link popularity, along with which are not. In my blog's case, that's my profile page from SEOmoz. But we've also got a few mentions on some other neat blogs.

All of this is powered by the Linkscape index. We're not doing any on-the-fly scraping or crawling, so it's pretty snappy. All the reports I've done so far have come back in under 15 seconds. If you guys know of tools that give you this kind of data faster than that, the engineer in me would love to see them.

There are plenty of surprises here, and lots of opportunity to see how some of your favorite sites (or your competitors) are positioned on the web. You may find there are communities eager to link to content like yours that you are missing out on.

We think that, with unlimited access for PRO members, this tool is a really nice step between the free-for-anyone Linkscape Basic Report and the credit-based advanced report. If you're a PRO member, check it out. If not... well, check out the basic report :)

Facebook Advertising - An Opportunity for Deep Targeting at Very Low Cost

Posted by randfish on Wed (3/11/09) at 01:46 AM to Social Media

The following post is a collaborative effort by myself and David Klein (DK), who does far more Facebook advertising consulting than SEOmoz :-) He recently visited with the Facebook crew and has been helping more online marketers get comfortable and invested in the space.

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Analog signals to digital

Analog signals to digital

Analog signals are continuous electrical signals. Digital signals are non-continuous. ^[5]

Nearly all recorded music has been digitized. About 12 percent of the 500,000+ movies listed on the Internet Movie Database are digitized on DVD.

Usage examples

The term digitization is often used when diverse forms of information, including text, sound, image and voice, are encoded in a single 0-1 binary code. Digital information exists in only one of two forms -0 or 1- which are called bits (a contraction of 'binary digits'), and the sequences of 0s and 1s that constitute information are called bytes. [3]

The term is often used for the scanning of analog sources, such as printed photos or taped videos into computers for editing, but it also can refer to audio (where sampling rate is often measured in kilohertz) and textures map transformation. In this last case, as in normal photos, sampling rate refers to the resolution of the image (often measured in pixel per inch). Digitizing is the primary way of storing images in a form suitable for transmission and computer processing.

Digitizing is making a digital representation of geographical features within a raster image or vector using a geographic information system, i.e, the creation of electronic maps, either from various geographical imagery or by digitizing the traditional paper maps.

Since the advent of digital video the term continues to be frequently used, as of 2005, to refer to the process of importing footage into a computer via a FireWire cable. But this is not technically accurate, as the footage is already digital, so it is not really being digitized, but rather encoded into whatever format the non-linear video editing software uses.[citation needed]

"Digitization" is also used to describe the process of populating databases with files or data. While this usage is technically inaccurate, it originates for the previously-proper use of the term to describe the part of the process which involved converting the analog sources (printed pictures, printed brochures, etc.) into the digital representation before uploading to the target database(s).

Digitizing is also used in the field of apparel where an image is recreated by artists with the help of embroidery digitizing software tools and saved as embroidery machine code. This machine code is fed into an embroidery machine and embroidered onto apparels. The most supported format is DST file.

Digitizing also refers to the process of acquiring precise dimensions from a real world object, such as a car, using a CMM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing Measurement) device.[4]. Common digitization methods include optical 3d (laser) scanners as well.

Usage examples

Usage examples

The term digitization is often used when diverse forms of information, including text, sound, image and voice, are encoded in a single 0-1 binary code. Digital information exists in only one of two forms -0 or 1- which are called bits (a contraction of 'binary digits'), and the sequences of 0s and 1s that constitute information are called bytes. [3]

The term is often used for the scanning of analog sources, such as printed photos or taped videos into computers for editing, but it also can refer to audio (where sampling rate is often measured in kilohertz) and textures map transformation. In this last case, as in normal photos, sampling rate refers to the resolution of the image (often measured in pixel per inch). Digitizing is the primary way of storing images in a form suitable for transmission and computer processing.

Digitizing is making a digital representation of geographical features within a raster image or vector using a geographic information system, i.e, the creation of electronic maps, either from various geographical imagery or by digitizing the traditional paper maps.

Since the advent of digital video the term continues to be frequently used, as of 2005, to refer to the process of importing footage into a computer via a FireWire cable. But this is not technically accurate, as the footage is already digital, so it is not really being digitized, but rather encoded into whatever format the non-linear video editing software uses.[citation needed]

"Digitization" is also used to describe the process of populating databases with files or data. While this usage is technically inaccurate, it originates for the previously-proper use of the term to describe the part of the process which involved converting the analog sources (printed pictures, printed brochures, etc.) into the digital representation before uploading to the target database(s).

Digitizing is also used in the field of apparel where an image is recreated by artists with the help of embroidery digitizing software tools and saved as embroidery machine code. This machine code is fed into an embroidery machine and embroidered onto apparels. The most supported format is DST file.

Digitizing also refers to the process of acquiring precise dimensions from a real world object, such as a car, using a CMM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing Measurement) device.[4]. Common digitization methods include optical 3d (laser) scanners as well.

Digitizing

Digitizing

Digitizing or digitization[1] is representing an object, image, document or a signal (usually an analog signal) by a discrete set of its points or samples. The result is called "digital representation" or, more specifically, a "digital image", for the object, and "digital form", for the signal. McQuail identifies the process of digitalization having immense significance to the computing ideals as it "allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also intermingled" (2000:28) [2]

Analog signals are continuously variable, both in the number of possible values of the signal at a given time, as well as in the number of points in the signal in a given period of time. However, digital signals are discrete in both of those respects, and so a digitization can only ever be an approximation of the signal it represents.

A digital signal may be represented by a sequence of integers. Digitization is performed by reading an analog signal A, and, at regular time intervals (sampling frequency), representing the value of A at that point by an integer. Each such reading is called a sample.

A series of integers can be transformed back into an analog signal that approximates the original analog signal. Such a transformation is called DA conversion. There are two factors determining how close such an approximation to an analog signal A a digitization D can be, namely the sampling rate and the number of bits used to represent the integers.

Digitizing Methods

Digitizing Methods

I have chosen to explain briefly about the different methods of creating your own designs in your embroidery software. I must advise you right here and now that what I have written below is entirely my opinion. My opinion may not be your opinion and there are really no rights and wrongs with digitizing, just preferences.

The main program that I use for digitising is Embird Studio or PE Design , but most digitizing programs have similar features. There are now also several new-ish embroidery software programs on the market that allow you to just point and fill areas which very quickly gives you an embroidery design.

While this is a wonderful quick way to create a design it does not always create the best result. You may find that outlines do not sew correctly or close enough to a design or that you have a lot of jump stitches to remove when you have embroidered your design. Do you remember when you embroidered a design from a pre-programmed card, CD or from one of the professional digitizers?

You should have been impressed if the design embroidered out with either no jump stitches or the very minimum. This is the mark of an excellent digitizer. You will find that the professional digitizers do not use click and fill programs at all as they like to control the path of the stitching themselves and not leave it up to the program.

The difference between the good and the excellent designs is the method used to create the design. I guess it's like that old saying your Mum had, "if a job is worth doing then its worth doing well".

Check your program to see whether you have the option of actually inputting the stitches yourself rather than allowing the program to make the decisions for you. If you have this option it will be worth the effort to learn how to use it. The click and fill method is great if you are in a hurry and it is a one-off design you are doing, but if you intend stitching your design out time and again, then you should try to learn to digitize your design.

When you use a click and fill type program and you move from one area to the next of the same color you do not generally have the option of how the stitching continues. The program takes the shortest route which is normally a regular jump stitch. However if you were punching the design yourself you would try and eliminate that jump stitch by changing your punching tool to a running stitch. Then you would run-stitch from one area to another through an area that would be sewn over later, thus covering this stitching.

The other draw-back is in the creation of a design with a larger area of fill. I am sure you have all sewn out a design on fabric with a pile such as a towel to find that that the design does not meet in the centre leaving you with a line of no stitches. This is the sign of a design that has been created using the click and fill method. The design will begin sewing from one side then it embroiders towards the centre. Once it reaches a certain point the stitching moves to the outside and then sews back towards the middle of the design until it meets. But as you know, it sometimes doesn't quite meet causing you a certain amount of frustration.

If the design has been Manual Punched the design will sew exactly as you have applied the stitches. Learning to manual punch a design isn't as daunting as it sounds. Sure, it takes longer to do it this way but the end result will be a lot better. As with anything practice makes perfect and just by having the courage to have a play around with the program will teach you a lot of new tricks.

One way to start would be to create a design in a click and fill program and then take the design and add some other elements to it in your manual punching program. You can add bits of shading, outlines or whatever you fancy. Once you have tried this you might feel courageous enough to try manual punching a complete design. One step at a time.

Remember to test, test and test.

Here are 2 links to download two designs that I have prepared for you, as a sample of what I'm talking about. One design is done with Manual Punching, the other with Click and Fill . If you have Embird then you can run these designs through Sewing Simulator just to see what I mean about designs not joining in the middle from a click and fill program. Check the Manual Punched design and you will see that there are no gaps as it stitches from one side right through to the other side of the circle.

Download Click and Fill Circle

Download Manual Punch Circle

Then you will have to make you own decision as to which method you would rather use when creating your designs. Do you settle for good, or would you prefer to be excellent? It's up to you.