Tajima and multi-needle machines: the DST file
DST is the common language of commercial embroidery: Tajima, Ricoma, Happy, SWF, Barudan, ZSK and other multi-needle machines read it. It carries no colours, though.
| Tajima and multi-needle machines | |
|---|---|
| File format | DST (Tajima) |
| Colour | Not in the file: only a colour-change command; the operator maps needles to colours |
| Hoop | By machine and frame: caps, tubular and large frames |
| Transfer | USB stick or network (by model) |
Working with a file that has no colours
DST only says 'change colour here'. You choose which needle carries which thread on the machine's screen. That's why every DST needs a production sheet: colour order, thread numbers, size and hoop. Our tool gives you that sheet, ready to print, for every design.
Watch for this in commercial runs
- Cap fronts are usually 50–60 mm tall; on a cap frame the design should sew from the centre outwards.
- Trims: a jump longer than 12 mm needs a trim before it, or the operator cuts it by hand.
- Where a jump has no trim the operator cuts it by hand; the File Doctor counts these.
- A test sew-out before a production run is always the cheap option.
What shops ask
Do caps need their own file?
Ideally yes: a cap front is curved and sews smaller. Make the design separately at cap size (50–60 mm tall).
Which needle count does it suit?
DST doesn't care about needle count. If a design has more colours than needles, the machine reuses a needle and you change its thread.
Do Ricoma, Happy and SWF read it?
Yes: almost every multi-needle commercial machine reads DST, which is why it's the safe common format for contract work.
Check a DST file
See untrimmed jumps, density and short stitches.
Embroidery digitizing guide
What embroidery digitizing is, how hand and automatic digitizing differ, how to tell a good file, and what to ask before you order.
Guides
Logo to embroidery file, opening PES files, digitizing and the file format each machine brand reads: short, accurate guides.
See your own logo stitched
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