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For embroidery machine owners · honest prep

From Image to Embroidery: Honest Prep, Human Digitizers

We won't sell you a one-click "image to PES" button — because that button doesn't work. Here's what actually does: clean prep, realistic expectations, and a skilled human digitizer.

Prep your image free → Get a human digitizer quote →
🔒 Files stay on your deviceNo accountNo watermark
01 · the honest part

Why automatic digitizing doesn't work

"Embroidery isn't a file format problem — it's a physics problem.

Satin stitches narrower than about 1 mm break. Pull compensation depends on your fabric. Underlay choices, stitch direction and density decide whether a design sews flat or snaps needles. None of that exists in the pixels of your image — it lives in your fabric, your thread and your machine.

Even professional suites costing $1,000+ ship auto-digitize buttons — and their own tutorials tell you to fix the results by hand. The most mature open-source embroidery tool, Ink/Stitch, is a manual digitizing studio: if trustworthy one-click conversion could be built, the community would have built it in the last ten years. Ask any embroidery forum: auto digitizing never gives a proper design.

So we don't pretend. What software can do is the preparation — and that's what we built."

02 · what we do instead

What we do instead — prep that saves digitizing mistakes

  1. Clean and simplify.

    Upload your image to our converter: denoise, upscale, and reduce to the flat color count embroidery actually wants.

  2. Think in thread.

    Fewer, flatter color regions = a design a digitizer can work with. (A thread-chart mapping for Madeira/Isacord colors is on our roadmap — today we get you the clean, simplified SVG.)

  3. Export a digitizer-ready SVG.

    Clean, layered, closed paths — the starting point a human digitizer charges you less to finish.

Prep your image free →
03 · when software isn't enough

When you need a human digitizer

"For client work, wearables, small lettering, or anything that must sew perfectly the first time: hire a human. Professional digitizing typically runs about $15 per design — cheap insurance against ruined garments.

We've lined up digitizing partners who accept CleanPaths-prepared files."

Typical referral scope
  • Client-facing or wearable work
  • Small lettering that must sew clean
  • Anything that must sew perfectly the first time
TYPICAL COST ~$15 / design

Disclosure: CleanPaths may earn a commission when you use a digitizing service we refer — at no extra cost to you. We only refer services we believe are relevant. (16 CFR Part 255)

FAQ
Can I convert PNG to PES directly?
Not honestly. PES files contain stitch data — type, direction, density, compensation — that can't be derived from pixels alone. What you can do automatically is the preparation: clean the image, simplify the colors, export a digitizer-ready SVG. The stitch decisions belong to a human digitizer.
Why do auto-digitized designs sew badly?
Because the hard parts aren't in the image. Satin stitches under ~1 mm break; fabric stretch needs pull compensation; density and underlay decide whether it sews flat. Software that ignores your fabric, thread and machine is guessing — and your garment pays for the guess.
When is $15 for a human digitizer worth it?
Anything client-facing, wearable, or with small lettering. If a failed sew-out costs you a garment, a blank, or a customer, $15 is the cheapest insurance in the process.
What about the auto-digitize in Hatch or Embrilliance?
They exist — and their own documentation walks you through manually fixing the output. Auto features are assistants, not replacements. If you already own those tools, our prep export still saves you the cleanup step.
Do you have a stitchability checker?
Not yet — a preparation report (minimum-width checks, small-fragment flags, thread-chart mapping) is on our roadmap. Today: free prep export plus referral to human digitizers.
Do you upload or store my designs?
No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser — there is no upload step. We never receive, see, or store your images or the files you generate. Close the tab and they're gone; we never had them. This is how the tool is built, not a marketing claim. Details in our Privacy Policy.

Start with an honest prep.

Prep your image free → Get a human digitizer quote →
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