Embroidery Digitizing - Price vs Value

Why is the first question always, "What is your price?" instead of "How long have you been doing this?" or "Do you have any referring customers?"

This is a rhetorical question, of course. Businesses have to be careful, during tough economic times especially, price is important and a seemingly easy comparison. But, is it a wise way of evaluating digitizing companies?

I'm simply pointing out that the real value is in the quality and service you receive. Sure, it would be great to only ever pay $25 for every design you need, but cut rate and web-based companies can charge those prices for a reason; they won't deal with the customer over the phone and they have a "pool" of people digitizing on more than one shift, pumping it out as fast as possible with no personal contact with you, the customer....AND, you get attitude if you need them to fix something...pretty picture, right?

This means that you'll never get any consistency in quality or style and they will charge you a-la-carte for every edit, color change and resized version to the point that you end up spending just as much had you gone to a more experienced, quality priced digitizing firm. Remember, they love to advertise 15 years in the digitizing business but just because they've been in BUSINESS that long, doesn't mean the individual digitizing your design has been digitizing that long. What if you need to talk to the digitizer about the design or ask a question? Too bad.

Really think about this for a minute. Think about your commitment to your customers (and your business) for quality. Think about your customer(s) that are savvier or the ones that need a bit more attention (everyone has 1 or 2), you know, the pickier ones. Wouldn't it be a smoother process if you could pick up the phone and call your digitizer to discuss what needs to be done and get it the first time? Or a personal email speaking with the actual digitizer? Ask for a reference, ask how long the person has been digitizing, ask what their strong/weak points are. Some companies use auto-digitizing softwares and they simply do not turn out a good design. Ask if they utilize this type of software.

Look, digitizing is an art form of sorts. It's also a highly technical and creative business. Like most things in life, people that are very good at it can charge a bit more for their services. There is quite a large learning curve to it and it takes years to master.

At NeedleUp Digitizing, you get creative, professional and personalized service by someone who has 19 years of commercial digitizing experience and production background. We never use auto-digitizing software. Every
design is hand punched to your specifications. References are available, quotes are free and our turn time is 1-2 business days. We aren't a cheap, flat-rate company. We are a full service digitizing company whose
prices are favorable and comparable to the kind of quality that makes you look very good in the eyes of your customers. Don't just take my word for it, try us out.

The bottom line is that superior garment orders start with superior digitizing. So the next time you are evaluating vendors and asking only about price, think again. Be sure to ask ALL the important questions and make your decision based on the whole package. Make the money you're spending count for the exceptional reputation you want your clients to see. NeedleUp makes you professional!

For more information about NeedleUp's digitizing services, please visit our website at www.needleup.com where you can view some of our most recent work and get pricing and more information on contacting us.

In Line with Multi-Placement Embroidery

Have you ever turned down embroidering a baseball jersey job because the split-front design terrified you? What about sewing your clients logo around the bottom of a tablecloth for their upcoming show? Afraid you wouldn't be able to get the designs straight and lined up, especially multiple times? With a few pointers, you don't have to fear this ever again and your customers will be impressed with your professional skills.

The most common case of multi-hoop placements are by far the split front jerseys and jackets. Since you can't sew across the placket (or zipper) you have to embroider the design in two halves.

If it helps you on the horizontal plane, you can use an "L" ruler to get your horizontal perfectly correct to your vertical placket and mark with a chalk or fabric marker on both sides of the garment. It's imperative that your digitizer can see the jersey you're embroidering so the measurements are exact. I like to make sure the design overlaps slightly where it meets to make it visually appealing.

You must also have alignment markers on your hoops. Some companies have markings molded into the hoop itself for this purpose but you can simply mark your own with a ruler and marking pen. In this way, you can align your hoop with the placket (or your chalk marks) to get the designs straight on both sides.

You will hoop the fabric sides seperately, using your marks, matching the hoop marks to the chalk marks. Then you will drop (or start) your needle at the alignment point the digitizer has set in the design.

Assuming your digitizer is talented enough to set up your multi placement design, (....and NeedleUp can help you with this of course) you will work with them to set an alignment point on your design halves. This point is the juxtaposition for the two sides in relation to each other;

If you are just doing a design repeated several times, like along a hem, the second design usually starts from a point on the last design for a seamless sew.

There's a way to line up most any design, you just need a bit of practice and nerve enough to try it....not to mention a digitizer who will work with you. If you decide to go there, gives us a call!

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NeedleUp Digitizing can be reached at 303-287-6633 M-F 8:30 - 4

Embroidery Digitizing - "Fixing" Designs

With the economy still “tender” and the industry trying to regroup this year, I’ve been getting more of what I call “fixer” designs. Stitch designs that came from somewhere else that have a production problem of some sort, and the customer wants me to fix the design so it’s usable because they don’t want to have the design redone. That’s when I get the call and they say “I can’t show this to my customer!”. Of course, they don’t have the wireframe master copy of the logo; only the stitch file and usually about half of the design has to be re-digitized anyway.

Then there are the customers that only send me the “more complicated stuff” that their cheap digitizer can’t seem to get right or know how to do at all. Sometimes they’ll have a very important client or account that they cannot afford to lose due to a low quality design job. They save money on the easy stuff with the cheap digitizer but when it’s more detailed or too difficult for them, or more important to get it right and fast, they come to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the business, but I always wonder if the customer really feels it was worth it to go through the whole process twice, only to end up paying just as much or more; plus doubling their turn time. Had they used a reputable digitizer the first time they would have been able to meet their deadline and cross the finish line with a quality design.

I know you want to be your customer’s hero, their embroidery guru. I can’t stress enough the importance of building a rapport with a professional digitizer…personally… not ordering a design from a faceless company on a website.

Besides the inconsistency problem of never having the same person work on your designs, you can’t speak to the person directly for instructions, or changes to the design. If there’s a problem or need to call, you’ll likely get a message taker who’ll tell somebody to tell somebody. In the case of overseas companies, you can’t even do this because it is night-time there during your business day and they speak little, if any, English.

Spend a bit of time searching out a digitizer that’s a good fit with you and your business. Once you start a relationship with that person, I promise you, there will be many little benefits along the way you never got from the others. A little loyalty goes a long way also. Let them know where you’re coming from and work with them to create great embroidery for your clients. After all, quality is what brings your customers back to you!

Embroidery and the new tricks

As we bring in the new year, we usually reflect on the past one and are not able to resist comparison to previous years. I think it's safe to say, for most, 2009 didn't compare well to it's predecessors. Looking ahead is important and learning to flex and change with the times and situation of your business is the best protocol.

Take a look at your business and adjust in places you feel necessary. The direction you took even 2 years ago may bring you to another fork with another decision to make about the future of the way you do business, who your customers are, the services you provide and the way these customers will find you. It seems everything is done by computer now; day to day business, marketing, data streaming & customer contact. If you're not texting, tweeting or video streaming you are not in the loop, right? Well.....

Being an old(-er) dog that is still learning the new tricks, I still have a few up my sleeves. It's no secret the old dinosaurs like "cold calling" are extinct, but there are some new fangled ways to provide great service and let your customers know you are ready, willing and able to fulfill all their embroidery needs. You just need to be creative and stay up with the times. You may not feel that you have something to "tweet" every minute of the day but many companies have successfully incorporated Twitter into their marketing lineup. Social networking sites are abundant and there are even sites specifically geared toward embroidery and promotional advertisers. Many times you can have a page on these sites dedicated to your business with a profile to let potential customers know who you are and what you do.

Get creative and go to work! What things do you plan to incorporate into your business this year?