Embroidery process is a partnership between an embroidery machine and an embroiderer. At most times, itâs a beautiful partnership, with wonderful stitch-perfect results and lots of creative satisfaction. At other times the situation isnât so peachy any more. Today weâll deal with one of such situations, and to be more precise â the time when embroidery machine wonât recognize, see or read the designs that youâve been uploading onto it. Todayâs article addresses the issue directly, offering possible solutions to various causes of such predicament. The tale will unfold according to the following plan:
1 Part:
Golden rule (a.k.a. how to correctly transfer a design into an embroidery machine, any machine to be more precise)
2 Part:
Why embroidery machines donât read transferred designs: reasons
1 â Design problems
2 â Software problems
3 â Storage media (USB stick, flash card, compact memory card etc.) problems
4 â Embroidery machine problems
Now that we know what to expect from the article, letâs start with the first part
âGolden ruleâ or how to correctly transfer designs into an embroidery machine
An algorithm of design transfer is pretty simple:
Step 1 â a design (downloaded and saved on a computer) is uploaded to a correctly prepared storage media.
Step 2 â the storage media is attached to a machine.
Step 3 â a design is transferred from the storage media into the machine.
Before we proceed⦠If your machine doesnât read the uploaded design, a mistake has been made at some of the steps. Now, the algorithm, employed in complete accordance to our Golden rule reduces occurrence of such mistakes to minimum.
Golden rule:
1 â Read the manual to your embroidery machine. The manual contains information on how transfer designs onto an embroidery machine. As weâve said our Golden rule is a general guideline to the correct design transfer. Now, machines of various brands might have minor differences in the transfer layout, so to be sure that what youâre doing suits your machine in particular, always read the manual. If youâve done everything according to the manual and the machine still doesnât read the file, continue to the second step of the Golden rule protocol.
Why wonât my embroidery machine read a design
2 â Make sure that the storage device (USB stick, compact memory card etc.) complies with the demands of the manual.
2.1. One of the demands implies that all storage devices should be formatted in accordance with the file system of your embroidery machine. (The storage device is formatted in two cases: before its very first use and if thereâs a problem with it. What this procedure does is that it creates a file system that your embroidery machine can understand. Later, when youâll be uploading designs from a computer onto the device, youâll be saving them in the folders, created by the machine. If you donât, the machine wonât be able to read the designs.)
2.2. Another demand is concerned with the type of the storage device that you use. If the manual to your machine requires the use of compact memory cards, you should know their type. Compact memory cards for embroidery machines are CF-PCMCIA memory cards (CF cards). Such cards also require a PCMCIA card adaptor and a PCMCIA card reader. The adaptor is for the connection to the embroidery machine. The reader is needed to connect the card to the computer. If you use a laptop, chances are that it already has a PCMCIA slot. This means that you donât need the reader.
3 â Make sure that the design was converted and saved correctly before you upload it onto the storage device. Correctly saved design complies with the following specifications:
~Embroidery starts at the center of the design. (Auto start and end setting is on, with the center coordinates being (X â 00,0 Y â 00,0). These specifications help the machine to estimate the size of the embroidery and choose the hoop. (If it doesnât know the sizes, it might guide the needle to hit the hoop, which might result in the breakage of both. So, in order to prevent such a mishap, the machine just wonât read the design with âbadâ settings.)
Why wonât my embroidery machine read a design
~Designâs positioned in accordance with the form of the hoop. Turn the design horizontally or vertically to fit into the hoop that itâll be embroidered with.
~Correct measuring system is applied. Donât confuse inches with millimeters when assessing the size of the design and applying it to the embroidery area of your machine. If you do, youâll likely save the design with wrong settings. This in its turn will make the embroidery machine think itâs dealing with âbad designâ and it wonât read it.
~The format of the design is set correctly. Thereâre various types of formats suitable for each particular embroidery machine. Read the manual to learn which one is suitable for yours.
~The embroidery machine model feature (in the setting menu of the software) is set correctly. Why this specification is important: Each embroidery machine has its own set of hoops. When converting designs from one format to another, the program does it in accordance with specific requirements of particular embroidery machine. It chooses the format, the hoop size etc. for the design, suitable for each particular model. Without the model feature, the program wonât be able to save the design in readable for the machine a way. For example some Janome models can read only .jef formats, while others only .jef+ formats.
~The design size (stitches, color changes) doesnât exceed the maximum allotted to your embroidery machine. Read the manual. Each machine has its own limits and wonât read files exceeding these limits.
~The designâs name contains ONLY letters of the modern English alphabet and numbers (without any symbols and punctuation marks).
~The correct settings, that youâve chosen, are applied and saved (in the program). Also, if youâve been editing the design, before saving it, make sure that no part of it is highlighted.
4 â Make sure the design is saved in the correct folder on the device. When you format the storage device in the embroidery machine, it creates a specific folder for designs to be saved (My Designs, EMBF etc.). You should save designs ONLY in such folders; otherwise the machine wonât find them.
Now that the Golden rule protocol is given and explained, you should be able to transfer designs to your embroidery machine without making any mistakes. If, however, for some reason or another, issues occur, proceed to reading Part 2 of our article. Part 2 is concerned with identifying of reasons, which might have caused your machine inability to read the uploaded designs. Also, it provides solutions to the issues in question.
Why wonât my embroidery machine read a design
2 Part:
Why embroidery machines donât read transferred designs: reasons
1 â Design problems
Before we dwell further into the issues that might be wrong with the design, weâd like to speak of why design problems should be looked into at first. Well, itâs pretty simple: the whole process of design transfer (the algorithm described at the beginning of the article) starts with the design. First you download it from the Internet, convert it, save it, store it on your computer etc. Only then do you transfer it into the machine. Thus, if thereâs a problem with the result, the proper way to start the troubleshooting process is with checking of the very first step. That being said, letâs continue with the details:
~Your machine wonât read the design. Solution: first step is to check the correctness of all the setting parameters you applied. The center of the design should have coordinates (X â 00,0, Y â 00,0). The start of the embroidery should begin at the center of the design. The design should be correctly positioned in the hoop (horizontally and vertically.).
~Your machine wonât read the design because it has a too big amount of stitches or color changes. Solution: divide the design into parts. (The division is made on the color-change base. This means that you should divide the design into, say, two parts (two separate designs). First youâll embroidery first half of colors, and then start the second design with the second half.
~Your machine wonât read the design if its size exceeds the maximum embroidery area. Solution: resize the design.
~Your machine wonât read a design, written in letters of a non-English alphabet. Solution: open it on your computer again and change the name. Donât use any punctuation marks and diacritics (symbols like apostrophes, dots, accents and curves).
~Your machine wonât read a design because its format is wrong. Solution: open the design on your computer and convert it into the needed (correct) format. Make sure the lettering of the format is chosen correctly (upper and lower cases may play a role in the issue â e.g.: .JEF and .jef formats).
~Another thing to be taken into account is various versions of the same format. As the equipment evolves, formats, used for the equipment, evolve as well. New machines (of the same brand) might not be able to read formats of âprevious generationsâ. If you think that this is the cause of the problem, open the design in one of the previous versions of your software and re-save it. Otherwise, update (upgrade) the software of the embroidery machine so that it could read newer formats.
~Your machine wonât read a design because it canât find it on the storage device. Solution: save the design on the device again, making sure itâs in the correct folder (My designs, EMBF etc.)
~Your machine wonât read a design because it âthinksâ the file is corrupted. Solution: format the storage device in the embroidery machine and only after that send new files into it. Make sure you upload only files that can be read by your machine (i.e. embroidery formats like .jef, .vip, .pes etc.) Donât upload any files of other (non-embroidery) formats (like .jpg, .exp, .gif etc.). Also make sure you donât overload your device with too many files.
2 â Software problems
These kinds of problems are connected to the software you use to convert, edit and transfer designs onto the storage device (and then into your machine). We need to note that the problems here are caused not by the problems themselves, but by the faulty or improper navigation and use of such software. As each software âhandlesâ conversion, edition and other design-related operations differently, one might confuse or not take into account all the implied differences.
Why wonât my embroidery machine read a design
Example: When you download a design (which was created, edited and otherwise transformed in one type of software), chances are youâd use a different type of software to adapt it (to convert it) to your embroidery machine. Thus, all the previous settings get interfered with the new ones and, without proper âtreatmentâ applied to the design, your machine wonât be able to read it.
Now that weâve finished talking about the character of the problem in general, letâs see some particular examples.
~Your machine wonât read the design because its format is of an older (or newer) version. (Weâve mentioned the problem before in the âdesign problemâ section. As software is part of both problem and solution, we think itâs important to mention it again here.) Solution: Download an older version of the editing software and convert the design once again.
~Your machine wonât read the design because, after youâve converted it into the format you needed, its parameters became offset. Some types of software donât offer specific parameters by proxy when it converts designs for particular embroidery machines. Solution: learn to navigate (use) the software to pinpoint differences in the editing (conversion) settings
One of the most common examples of such is âthe hoop size featureâ (Usually this âmisunderstandingâ happens when you use Wilcome Trusizer to convert a design to a .jef format. It happens not because the software is âbadâ, but because some Janome models canât select hoops on their own. An embroiderer should select it âmanuallyâ. Now, other embroidery machines, on the other hand, are capable of such a thing. So some types of software just âassumeâ that it converts a design for the so-to-say âcapableâ model and doesnât pre-select the hoop-size parameter). As this feature is important for the machine, it wonât read a design with offset parameters.
Why wonât my embroidery machine read a design
Solution: (in particular for .jef formats) â convert designs into .jef formats with the help other types of software (e.g. Janomeâs software, Embird etc.) As you do, donât forget to set the model type feature and the hoop size feature too.
3 – Storage media (USB stick, flash card, compact memory card etc.) problems
Problems with the storage media can be caused either by mechanical defect of the device or the issues with its digital content. If thereâs something wrong with the device mechanically (itâs physically broken) just get a new one. If thereâs something wrong with its digital content (corrupted files etc.) first thing you need to do is to format the device in your embroidery machine. In most cases formatting USB sticks or compact memory cards is a universal solution to everything. However, what will you do if you upload a design to the machine from a âfreshlyâ formatted device and the machine still wonât read the files? Further we give solutions to the most common problems with the storage media.
~Your machine wonât read a design from a storage device if itâs overly full. An embroidery machine has a relatively âslowâ processor (yes, itâs computerized, but itâs still not a computer). So, if your device (be it a USB stick or a CF memory card) contains too many designs, the machine wonât be able to process all the data quickly or at all. Solution: consult the manual to learn how many designs at a time your machine can read. Then youâll need to format the device and upload only the given amount of files.
~Some embroidery machines wonât read designs from a device with a too large memory capacity. Again, it just wonât be able to process the potential GBs of information. Solution: use devices of smaller capacity.
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs from a storage device if it âthinksâ thereâs a corrupted file in there. Solution: format the device and upload one design at a time.
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs from a storage device (or recognize it altogether) if itâs not compatible with the machine. Solution: read the manual to learn what types of storage devices you can use with your machine. Some machines âacceptâ only USB sticks, other â only CF-PCMCIA memory cards.
4 – Embroidery machine problems
Now weâve come up to the final component of the design transfer algorithm â the embroidery machine itself. If your embroidery machine wonât read a design even after youâve checked all the above mentioned parts, then itâs possible that thereâs something wrong with the machine itself. As a rule, thereâre three types of such problems: mechanical issues, old firmware and slow processor. Further weâll dwell on the issues in detail, providing solutions to most common of them.
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs which it has read perfectly well only few weeks ago. Youâve checked all the settings of the designs, followed the Golden rule protocol to a T and still the design wonât show up. In this case, chances are, the firmware of your embroidery machine needs an update. Solution: You can go to the service center where professionals can install (upgrade) the firmware. Else, you can visit the support page of the official web-site of your manufacturer and get an upgrade there.
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs if thereâre too many of them on the storage device. Its processor is simply unable to read huge amount of data at once. Solution: format the device and upload only 1-2 designs at a time.
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs from a device with a too large memory capacity. Solution: use devices of smaller capacity (1-2 GB).
~An embroidery machine wonât read designs or recognize the storage device altogether if thereâs something wrong with its connecting port. Solution: Check the port (USB port). Sometimes all youâll need to do is to clean it with a brush. If that wonât help, youâll need to take the machine to a service center for a professional âcheck-upâ.
Conclusion:
The information weâve presented you with contains almost all possible reasons (and solutions) of issues, connected with embroidery machines not being able to read designs. Hopefully now, that youâve read them all, youâll be able to resolve the issue quicker and easier. To reduce the occurrence of such embroidery setbacks to minimum, you absolutely need to learn the manual to your embroidery machine. To that you also need to have good knowledge of the software you use for editing design. All of that being combined will ensure you enjoying embroidery process to the full. That being said, only thing that is left is us wishing you only smooth stitches and perfectly set-up alignments!
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Author: Ludmila Konovalova
My name is Lyudmila Konovalova, and I lead Royal Present Embroidery. Embroidery for me is more than a profession; it is a legacy of my Ukrainian and Bulgarian heritage, where every woman in my family was a virtuoso in cross-stitch and smooth stitching. This art, passed down through generations, is part of my soul and a symbol of national pride.
Date: 14.12.2018