Outsourcing your digitizing can make your life a whole lot easier. You not only don’t have to worry about doing it yourself but you also know that the work will be in the hands of an expert. Here we look at those benefits in greater detail while also looking into what makes a great digitizer.
What is embroidery digitizing?
Embroidery digitizing is when to convert artwork into a digital stitch file. This artwork, such as a company logo, is carefully detailed to be able to replicate it how you wish. An embroidery machine will then be able to use this stitch file to create a perfect replica of whichever artwork it has copied.
Whether it’s a baseball cap, a football jacket or sneakers, they will all use a digital file to ensure the stitching is done the same way every time. The process isn’t easy but a skilled professional will be able to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
Why can’t you do it yourself?
Embroidery digitizing software
Just like playing the guitar or learning how to drive, everyone would be able to learn how to do embroidery digitizing. What you do need is the software. Digitizers use the latest programs to make sure that the colors and stitching pattern are precise. As you can imagine, this software comes at a cost.
Embroidery machine
Another significant cost in the process is getting an embroidery machine. This is needed to make the patterns and requires experience to be able to use it. Mastering an embroidery machine takes practice and a lot of time. You cannot master embroidery digitizing without running an embroidery machine.
Experience
Just as a novice would be terrible at driving a car or playing the guitar, the same could be applied to a novice digitizer. Even if you had the software and equipment, it’s unlikely that you’d be able to make something to the level of quality you desire.
Benefits of outsourcing
Savings – As we’ve looked at already, the cost of the software and equipment is very high. Even if you employ a digitizer, you have to worry about their salary costs as well as other factors such as sickness, experience and having the right workload.
It can all lead up to a significant expense. You can easily underestimate the costs and this can lead to a lot of headaches. A lot of the time, outsourcing your digitizing will be a lot cheaper and you won’t have any of the headaches of balancing the budget.
Efficiency – In any form of life, an expert is going to be able to get the job done more quickly. Embroidery digitizer often has years of experience that they can fall back on and you’ll be able to get the work completed very quickly.
You also won’t have to worry about machinery failing, staff not turning up or running out of any supplies. The whole process would be a lot more efficient. Efficiency is good for any business and that includes using an embroidery digitizer.
Confidence in quality work – When you use an experienced and professional embroidery digitizer, you know that the work you get back is going to be of the highest level of quality. This will give you confidence in the quality of the work.
It is confidence that you won’t be able to have if you complete the work in-house. You might have to give back numerous revisions if you are not happy with the end product. This can be a highly frustrating experience.
No training required – When you bring anyone new into a business, they need time to be able to adapt and become comfortable with what they are doing. That can lead to delays in production and also the chance that they don’t fit in with your organization.
Outsourcing your embroidery digitizing means that you don’t have to worry about training, as you have a ready-made company waiting to do the job for you. This also helps to reduce training costs and any possible downtime.
Time savings – As well as the actual cost of using an embroidery digitizer, you also need to consider the time cost too. Having another department within your company requires a significant time investment which could be spent elsewhere.
You could instead focus that time on something that you are an expert in and help to build up your organization. When outsourcing to an embroidery digitizer, you simply tell them what you need and they’ll go away and do it for you.
What makes a great digitizer?
Experience – The more experience you have with something, generally the better at it you are. The same can be said for embroidery digitizing and you want to be able to use a company that is a safe pair of hands and one that you can trust.
Support – A good company will always give you the support you need. This could be in the form of dealing with any queries or settling any concerns. You always want to know that your order is being taken seriously and that support is there if you need it.
Timeframe – A great embroidery digitizer will be able to give you a solid timeframe on the work to be completed. Sometimes it can be difficult for specifics but they would be able to give you an accurate idea of when you expect the work to be completed.
Pricing – As with most products, you get what you pay for. That being said, you still want competitive and fair pricing. As you have already seen, you are most likely going to be able to save a lot of money when you outsource your work.
Outsourcing makes sense
As you can see here, outsourcing is something that simply makes sense for the majority of companies. Unless you are a huge clothing manufacturer, it’s unlikely that you have the volume and consistency of output to make it work.
