Which format does my machine need?
| Format | Machines | Stores thread colors |
|---|---|---|
| DST | Tajima, most commercial multi-needle machines | No |
| PES | Brother, Babylock, Bernina Deco | Yes |
| EXP | Melco, Bernina | No |
Opening JEF (Janome) and PEC files is supported; saving is available as DST, PES and EXP.
What stays the same when you convert
Every stitch, jump, trim and color change is carried over at the original 0.1 mm positions, so the design sews the same. Stitches longer than a format allows (12.1 mm for DST, 12.7 mm for EXP) are split into shorter ones along the same line.
DST has no trim command, so trims are written the way Tajima machines expect them: as a run of short jumps. PES files get a small tie-in stitch where the needle lands after a jump, the same way Brother software writes them, so the stitch count of a PES can be a few stitches higher than the original.
Thread colors between formats
DST and EXP files only record where the color changes happen, not the colors themselves. When converting to PES, set each thread color first; each one is matched to the nearest Brother thread, and the list shows which thread the machine will ask for.