Most delays on a punch are not the stitching. They are the hour spent rebuilding a logo from a blurry screenshot because that was the only file in the email. If the art, the finished size, the fabric, and the placement arrive together, the desk can punch. If any one of those is missing, the first job is a redraw or a question, and the clock has not started.
Four things, in one email
Artwork is the mark itself: a vector, a large PNG, or a PDF that still has the shapes. Finished size is the width and height it will sew, not the size it looks on a website. Fabric is what the needle enters — pique, a structured cap, leather, a jacket back — because density and underlay follow that. Placement is where it sits: left chest, cap front, full back.
Leave one out and the other three cannot be used. A perfect vector at an unknown size is still a guess. The longer checklist, including what not to send, is the logo preparation guide.
| Send this | Workable if you must | Do not send this as the only file |
|---|---|---|
| AI, EPS, SVG, or a PDF with vectors | A PNG at least 1000 pixels on the long side | A screenshot, a phone photo of a screen, a 200-pixel web logo |
| Width and height in inches or millimeters | “Left chest, about 3.5 inches” with the garment named | “Same as the website” or “make it big” |
| The fabric, or a clear photo of the blank | “Polo” or “structured cap” in the note | No fabric at all |
| Placement: chest, cap front, sleeve, back | A photo with the area circled | A file from another garment, unlabeled |
When a redraw is the real first step
Some marks are not embroidery yet. Hairline outlines, gradients, tiny type, and photographs of people have to be rebuilt as stitches. That rebuild is vector artwork or a redraw inside logo digitizing, and it happens before a single satin is placed. Sending the original, even if it is imperfect, is still better than sending a sew-out photo of someone else’s file. We can see what you wanted. We cannot recover shapes from a blur.
If you already have a machine file and you want it changed, send that file and say what is wrong. An edit is not the same job as a new punch, and we should not redraw a mark that only needed a density change.
Formats come after the punch
DST, PES, and the rest are chosen once the design exists. They are not a substitute for the artwork. Name the machine if you know it, and read what DST and PES actually carry if you are choosing between them. The format guide is embroidery file formats.
How long the punch takes after this email is complete is a separate note: how long a punch file actually takes. Send the four things first. The hours only mean something after that.
A file you can punch, and a file you have to redraw
A vector still has shapes. The desk can trace those shapes into satins and fills. A screenshot is a picture of shapes that are already gone: the edges are pixels, the tiny type is a blur, and the only honest first step is to redraw. That redraw is real work, and it happens before any of the hours on the punch clock.
If the vector exists, send it even when you also have a PNG for reference. The PNG shows the colors you care about. The vector shows the paths. Together they are enough. The PNG alone, at web size, is not.
What we do when one piece is missing
| Missing piece | What happens next | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| No usable artwork | Redraw, or a stop until you send paths | AI, EPS, SVG, PDF, or a large PNG |
| No finished size | We ask, and the punch waits | Width and height on the garment |
| No fabric | Density and underlay would be a guess | Name the shirt, cap, jacket, or leather |
| No placement | A chest file and a cap file are different | Say where it sews |
| A machine file and no note | We do not know if you want an edit or a new punch | Say what is wrong, or say it is only for reference |
An edit is not a new logo
If the sew-out is already close and you want a density change, a color stop, or a format for a second machine, send the machine file and one sentence about the fault. That is file editing or a conversion, and it should not start with a redraw of art you were happy with.
If the sew-out is the wrong construction — a fill where you needed satin, a shirt file on a cap, puff columns that never lifted — send the art again and say so. Those are new punches. The notes on this blog cover the usual ones: underlay on pique, caps that drift, puff columns, and DST versus PES.
Ready when you are