From Logo to Stitch File: How to Prepare Your Logo for Bag Embroidery

To have your logo embroidered on bags, send it as a vector file: .AI, .EPS or vector .PDF, with all fonts outlined.

We then digitise that vector into a stitch file, which is the only format an industrial embroidery machine can read. A vector file is not a stitch file, and a .JPG or .PNG is neither.

That is the short version of how to digitise a logo for embroidery. The longer version matters, because artwork problems are the most common reason a bag order slips its date.

This guide covers what to send, what digitising actually does to your logo, which elements survive it, how small embroidered text can go, and how brand colours are matched in thread. It sits alongside our custom embroidery services for business bags, where the range and terms are set out in full.

In this article

• Which file format do you need for logo embroidery?
• What is embroidery digitising, and why is it a separate step?
• What survives digitising and what has to change?
• How small can embroidered text be?
• How are Pantone brand colours matched in thread?
• What happens after you send your artwork?
• Frequently asked questions

Which file format do you need for logo embroidery?

Send a vector file.

Vector artwork describes your logo as mathematical paths rather than a grid of pixels, so it can be scaled to any size without softening, and the outlines can be read precisely enough to plan a needle path.

PS: If you have trouble getting a vector file, send a high-quality PNG, and we'll fix the vectorising for you.

• Accepted: .AI (Adobe Illustrator), .EPS, or a vector .PDF.
• Not usable as-is: .JPG, .PNG, screenshots, a logo lifted from a website, or a .PDF that contains only a placed image.
• Outline your fonts before exporting. Text that is still live text will fall back to whatever typeface the production software has installed, which is how a brand ends up stitched in Arial. Converting text to outlines makes it a shape, and shapes cannot be substituted.

If a vector is genuinely all you have in raster form, send it anyway. We will tell you whether it can be used. Most raster logos need redrawing first, which carries a one-off charge we quote before any work starts.

What is embroidery digitising, and why is it a separate step?

Digitising (digitizing, in US spelling) is the conversion of your vector logo into a stitch file, normally a .DST, which tells the machine exactly what to do.

It is a craft step performed by a person, not an automatic export, and it is the single biggest factor in whether the finished bag looks expensive.

Three decisions are made during digitising:

• Stitch direction. Which way the thread lies across each shape. Direction is what catches the light and gives embroidery its depth, and it is why the same logo can look flat or sculpted depending on who digitised it.
• Stitch density. How tightly the stitches pack. Too loose and the bag colour shows through the logo. Too tight and the panel stiffens and puckers around it.
• Underlay. A hidden foundation layer stitched first, which stabilises the fabric and stops the top stitches sinking into the weave. On canvas this is what keeps edges crisp.

Digitising is charged once per design, quoted before work begins, and the resulting stitch file is stored afterwards.

Reorders of the same logo carry no repeat setup, which is why a second run of the same design is cheaper than the first.

What survives digitising and what has to change?

Thread is a physical material with a physical width. That single fact explains every item in this table.

A simplified version of a logo very often stitches better and costs less, because price follows stitch count.

That is a rare case where the cheaper option is also the better-looking one.

How small can embroidered text be?

The working rule across the embroidery industry is about 5 mm cap height for stitched lettering.

Below that, adjacent strokes start to merge into each other, counters close up, and a word turns into a textured blur.

Two practical consequences for a bag logo:

• Serifs and hairlines go first. A typeface with fine serifs at small size will lose them, so the mark reads as a slightly different logo than the one in your brand book.
• Straplines rarely make it. On a pouch or a small front panel, the honest answer is usually to stitch the wordmark alone and leave the strapline off.

The exact floor for your logo depends on its own construction, so we confirm it on your proof rather than guessing from the rule.

Send the artwork and the bag you have in mind, and you get a straight answer before you order.

How are Pantone brand colours matched in thread?

Printing mixes colour, but embroidery selects it.

Ink is blended to a target value, while thread comes on a spool in a fixed range of shades, so colour matching is a selection from a catalogue rather than a mix.

Send your Pantone (PMS) codes. They are the fastest way to get from your brand guidelines to the right spool, and they remove the guesswork that RGB screenshots create. We match each PMS code to the nearest available thread shade and show you the result on the proof.

Be aware of two honest limits. A thread catalogue will not always contain an exact match for a PMS code, so occasionally the closest available shade is a near miss rather than a hit. And thread has sheen, so the same colour reads slightly differently in thread than it does in flat ink. Both are visible on the proof, and both are decided before anything is stitched.

Once a Pantone reference is matched to a spool, it is consistent from the first bag to the five hundredth, and it is recorded with your stitch file for reorders.

What happens after you send your artwork?

You do not need to know how to program an embroidery machine. You need to send a usable file and approve a proof. The rest is our job.

1. Choose your bag and send the artwork. Pick the bag, weight and colour, and send the vector file with fonts outlined. Canvas at 220 and 340 g/m² is what holds a stitched logo flat, and our embroidered canvas bags page sets out the range. Below 200 g/m² the fabric puckers around dense stitching, and we will tell you to print instead.
2. We digitise and send a digital proof. Your logo on your chosen bag in your chosen colour, with the thread shades marked. We revise it until it is right. There are no physical sew-out samples, which is what keeps the lead time short and sampling costs out of your unit price.
3. You approve in writing. Nothing is stitched before that. This is the step buyers most often sit on, and it is the most common reason an order misses a date.
4. Production and EU delivery. 10 to 15 business days from your written approval, made and shipped inside the EU, so there is no import clearance, no customs declaration and no EPR packaging registration at your end.

The minimum order is 25 to 50 pieces per design, because digitising and machine setup happen per design and not per piece. Orders are paid 100% upfront, and all prices are ex-VAT with delivery included.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best file format for embroidery?

A vector file: .AI, .EPS or vector .PDF, with fonts outlined. That is what we need from you. The machine itself reads a stitch file, normally a .DST, which we produce from your vector during digitising. You are never expected to supply a stitch file.

Can you use our JPG or PNG logo?

Sometimes, and it is worth sending. A clean, high-resolution, flat colour raster logo can often be redrawn as a vector. A small, blurry or gradient-heavy one usually cannot be redrawn faithfully. Redrawing is a one-off charge, quoted before anything happens, and you get the answer before you commit to an order.

How much does it cost to digitise a logo for embroidery?

It is a one-off charge per design, quoted before work begins, and it is separate from the per bag price. It is charged once because the stitch file is reusable: your file is stored after production, so reordering the same design carries no repeat setup, on any bag in the range.

Will our logo look exactly like our brand guidelines?

Close, and the differences are shown to you before production rather than discovered afterwards. Flat shapes and spot colours reproduce faithfully. Gradients become solid blocks, hairlines thicken, very small text is enlarged or dropped, and thread colour is the nearest catalogue match to your PMS code. Every one of those decisions appears on your proof, and nothing runs without your written approval.

Which fabric weight should we choose for a stitched logo?

Canvas. It is dense enough to hold stitch density flat, where lightweight cotton ripples around a dense logo and shows an untidy stitch reverse inside an unlined bag. Our custom embroidered canvas bags page sets out the weights we stitch and what each one suits.

Do you sell blank bags for us to embroider ourselves?

No. We supply finished bags embroidered with your company logo, from 25 pieces per design. We do not sell blanks, kits, or craft supplies. If you want bags to stitch yourself, a craft or haberdashery supplier is the right place.

Should we be embroidering this logo at all?

Not always. A large full-colour graphic, a photographic mark or a high-volume single-use event bag is a printing job, and printing will be cheaper and better for it. If you are still weighing the two methods, our guide to embroidery or print on corporate bags settles it in about two minutes.