Every embroidery job starts with digitizing: converting your logo into a stitch file the machine can read. Good digitizing is invisible in the finished piece; bad digitizing shows up as puckering, gaps, and letters you can't read. A little preparation on your side makes the difference.
Send the cleanest file you have. A vector file (AI, EPS, PDF, or SVG) is ideal because it scales without losing edges. If all you have is a PNG or JPG, send the largest version you own. If all you have is a photo of an old shirt, bring it in; we can rebuild most logos from that, it just takes a bit longer.
Think about size and detail. A left-chest logo is usually 3 to 4 inches wide, and at that size, text under about a quarter inch tall becomes hard to stitch cleanly. Thin lines, tiny lettering, and gradients are the first things to simplify. If your logo has a tagline in small type, we'll often recommend dropping it from the embroidered version.
Pick thread colors on purpose. We match to Pantone or to a physical sample when you have one, and we'll show you thread colors in the shop. Once your logo is digitized, it stays on file with us, so reorders and new products (caps after polos, jackets after caps) are quick and consistent.