Have you
ever heard the term “punching” in regards to machine embroidery?
If you’ve
been in this crazy business for a long while, you know exactly what this refers
to. If you’ve only been in it for even
10 or 15 years, you may have heard the term but aren’t sure what it means. Less
than 10 years, you might not have even come across the term.
I started
digitizing over 22 years ago. Back then we called it punching because designs
were saved on paper tapes much like the old tele-type tapes (you may even have
to look that up J). These tapes were
created on a reel to reel machine that punched holes into the tape which
corresponded to stitches in the embroidery software. Each tape held a design and some designs that
were really big, like jacket backs would consist of multiple tapes. When you
wanted to load a design, you had to run the tape through the reader and the
software would read the holes and bring the design up on the screen, stitch by
stitch. Hence, the act of programming embroidery designs was called punching
and the people who did it, punchers. It
was nothing to tell customers they’d have their design in 2 or 3 weeks.
Later when technology
came forward a bit, we became digitizers.
Design were plotted out on a tablet or large board resembling an
architect table and stitches were input directly into the computer. You had to
path the design out before you even started because input began with the first stitch
and ended with the last, in the exact order it was to sew. If a mistake was
made or something was left out, you had to erase everything back to the point
where the error or omission was and do it over again. Editing afterwards was
limited, at best, and it was confined mostly to moving stitches one at a time.
Seems archaic now, right? It kinda was…
We were
still a few years away from being able to bring the artwork up into the
software to digitize over it. Now of course, everything is done on screen, full
editing capabilities and many automated features like complex fills and
keyboard lettering that the software does for you.
We’ve come a
long way in this industry. I’ve seen all the changes but I’m really glad the
process has gotten easier with the advances in embroidery technology. Even after all this time, I still catch
myself using the term punching. My
customer may not know what I’m talking about but it always makes me smile.
