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The logo will be embroidered. How many colors should you use in your design?

Does the cost go up significantly for more colors?

What exactly is stitch count?

What format should the file be saved in so it is "embroider" ready?

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all questions you should be asking the company that's doing your embroidering. – DA01 Jan 29 '11 at 20:48
Voted to close for that very reason: other than the first question, all of the other should be directed towards the embroiderer. – Philip Regan Jan 30 '11 at 0:17
Sorry for the bad question...new to this. Is it better if I edit it to "Has anyone ever designed a logo for a sports team that was to be placed on a hat?" If so, what were some of the specs you had to consider with your design? – user446 Jan 30 '11 at 21:56
Are you only ever going to use the logo on a cap? You'd normally design a logo that works or can be adapted for a range of applications. – e100 Feb 1 '11 at 19:27
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It's not a bad question. The point is, however, that we can't give you the specs. They have to come from the particular place that is going to be doing the embroidery. They are going to be unique to that company's materials, equipment, and preferences. – DA01 Feb 2 '11 at 19:57
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2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

I worked as an embroiderer for about 6 months in a small local shop, specifically making embroidered ball-caps.

  1. We preferred clients who came in with an already vectorized logo (Adobe Illustrator .ai or .eps format or Corel Draw .cdr format). It was an extra charge if we had to vectorize the logo for the client.

  2. Our machines could only handle a maximum of 10 thread colors per design. I would make sure your logo would not exceed that. You will get to pick the thread colors you want from a swatch book in the store. From what I remember, it was usually not significantly more expensive to add colors. The final stitch count, the number of items to be embroidered and the timeline of the job (ie. if you wanted it rushed for the next morning) were the big determining factors in the price.

  3. We would then convert the logo to a custom embroidery stich file (.POF) and based on the final stitch count of the design, we would put together a final quote with an embroidered swatch sample. The reason a more complicated design with a higher stich count would be more expensive is because it takes much longer for the machine to stitch the design.

That being said, every shop is unique and may have significantly different equipment and pricing. I recommend you just give them a call and get all the details straight from the shop. Hope that helps!

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up vote 2 down vote
  1. In my experience it is best to design a logo that is going to be used in embroidery with as few colors as possible. Three colors should be a good number.
  2. The cost usually goes up per color, but that all depends on the embroiderer.
  3. Stitch count is that exactly: the number of stitches in the embroidered element.
  4. The format depends on the type of machine that the embroiderer is using. Most cases a .jpg in medium resolution will work just fine.

As with all things, it is a good idea to talk to the company who will be embroidering the logo.

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I'd send a vector file rather than a JPEG. – e100 Feb 2 '11 at 20:27
That may work too! – Keith Groben Feb 2 '11 at 21:10