Original text by Marina Belova
I want to return to the question of digitizing efficiency raised in my previous article. Today I want to add 2 more methods that I learned from the
Western embroidery professionals and tried out myself – they do indeed work.
These methods are standard regardless of the software you've chosen:
- you need to digitize all designs at a scale of 6 in 1 (i.e. increase them 6 times in size)
- and avoid drawing too many points on the curves
A 6 to 1 scale is a legacy of the pre-computer digitizing era. So why do modern punchers, operating in the up-to-date software, stick to that standard?
I think the answer is, "They got used to it". When you digitize on the same scale over and over again, you get in the groove.
So you can work out every object in detail and estimate the distance between the elements by the naked eye. To reckon whether there is enough compensation to counter-balance push&pull. Actually, many parameters can be worked out in advance. Therefore, an experience of using one and the same scale can help to prevent a lot of mistakes.
On top of that, with this scale, you can avoid drawing too many points. Superfluous points > unnecessary details > waste of stitches.
When digitizing on a big scale you'll get lots of possible points defining the shape of an object, whether you like it or not. You'll need some time to mark the object out. To substantiate my statement here is the classic example: To define the circle, 4 pairs of points will enough (image A).
But you can go overboard and draw a lot more of them (image B).
The result will be the same in both cases. Therefore, as the commercials put it, "Why pay more?"
That's where goes the lion's share of the digitizer's effort – additional points. As a consequence, they have low digitizing speed and low efficiency, and the design needs modifications after testing.
To be honest, I had trouble growing out of a habit of zooming. I had to reconfigure my embroidery software so that there was no zooming when I spun the mouse wheel. You can always see how the design looks in the preview window. But I liked the result – my digitizing speed went up.
Edited by Irina
