DST vs PES vs JEF: which embroidery file format does your machine need?

What is actually inside an embroidery file?

An embroidery file (also called a design or, in the industry, a "stitch file") is a list of instructions for the machine: where the needle goes next, in steps of 0.1 mm, where the machine jumps without stitching, where it trims the thread and where it stops for a color change.

That is why an embroidery design is nothing like an image. A photo can be scaled freely; a stitch file has a fixed number of stitches planned for one size. Resize a finished design by more than 10 to 20 percent and the density changes with it: the embroidery comes out thin and gappy, or stiff as a board.

There are two families of files in machine embroidery:

• Machine (stitch) files such as DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3 and XXX: stitches only. This is what goes on the USB stick.
• Native project files such as .bordado (Meus Bordados), .EMB (Wilcom), .BE (Embrilliance) or .PXF (Pulse): they keep text, fonts, shapes and settings, all editable. You generate machine files from them.

Always keep the project file. When a customer wants the same name in another size, you change the letter height and export again instead of stretching finished stitches.

Which format does each machine brand read?

The table below lists the native format of the most common brands in the US. Many machines read more than one format (most Brother home machines also open DST, for example), but the native format is the one that carries the full information.

Tip: In Meus Bordados, the Hoop panel already includes Brother, Baby Lock, Brother PR, Janome, Elna, Tajima and Barudan hoops. Pick yours before exporting to see whether the design fits. See Size, position and hoop.

DST: the commercial standard

DST was created by Tajima and became the de facto standard of the commercial embroidery industry. Each stitch takes 3 bytes and the maximum movement per record is 12.1 mm; longer movements are split into jumps. A 512-byte header stores the design name, stitch count, number of color changes and the design extents.

What DST does not store is thread color. It only records "stop here for a color change". So when you send a DST to a contract embroiderer, include an image with the color sequence (an SVG export or a screenshot of the viewer works).

Strengths: accepted by almost everything, small, no incompatible versions. Weaknesses: no colors and no hoop information.

PES: the Brother and Baby Lock format

PES is the format of the best-selling home embroidery machines in the US. It stores the stitches, the colors (using Brother's thread palette) and, in recent versions, hoop size information. Inside the PES there is a section called PEC, which is the part the machine actually reads; some programs export a separate .PEC file.

The detail that causes the most headaches is versioning: PES has gone from version 1 to version 10. An older machine may refuse a file saved in a recent version and show an error on opening. If that happens, export again in an older version or, as a workaround, try DST, which most Brother machines also read.

JEF: the Janome and Elna format

JEF stores stitches, colors (Janome's palette) and the code of the hoop the design was made for. That hoop code is why the machine says "design too large" or asks for a specific hoop even when the embroidery would fit the maximum field.

Some newer Memory Craft models use JEF+, an extension with more information; machines that read JEF+ still read plain JEF. Older Janome models used the .SEW format.

Watch out: When exporting JEF, choose the hoop that matches your Janome in the software. A 90 × 90 mm design exported with the wrong hoop can be rejected by the machine even though it fits the sewing field.

How do you convert PES to DST (and back) without ruining the design?

Converting between machine formats is safe: the software reads the stitch list and writes the same list in another format. What can be lost is the extra information: going from PES or JEF to DST drops the colors (only the stops remain); going the other way, the software assigns default colors that you need to review.

The steps are the same in any program:

1. Open the original file. The Meus Bordados viewer opens DST, PES and JEF right in the browser, without uploading the file anywhere.
2. Check the size in millimeters, the stitch count and the color order. If it is a DST, assign the colors for each stop.
3. Do not resize by more than 10 to 20 percent. If you need another size, go back to the project file and generate it again.
4. Choose the target format and save. Use a short file name without special characters (some machines cannot display them).
5. Copy to the USB stick and stitch a test on scrap fabric before the real piece.

See the step by step with screenshots in Viewer: 3D preview and file conversion and the page on embroidery file formats.

Which format should you choose when the machine accepts several?

• Prefer the brand's native format (PES on Brother, JEF on Janome). It carries colors and hoop, and the machine screen shows the design correctly.
• Use DST when sending to a contractor, to a commercial machine, or when PES throws a version error.
• Keep the project file (.bordado, .EMB…) as the original. Machine files are disposable copies: generate as many as you need.
• Name files with size and format: "ana-60mm.pes" avoids confusion when the same design exists in three versions.