Selecting Images for AUTOPUNCH. Selecting an Image for AUTOPUNCH TM. October 2013

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1 October 2013 Selecting an Image for AUTOPUNCH TM Creating your own embroidery designs is a lot of fun with your SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine and AUTOPUNCH TM software. The first step to digitizing (and perhaps the most important) is to start with a good quality image. In this issue of Embroidery Made Easy, we will explore the different types of graphic files and why some will produce good embroidery results and others will not. This month s project is an adorable fabric basket, featuring an embroidery design that you can create with the software for your SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine. In addition, we will show you different ways to change the size of a design in the Inside Your Software section. Fall is here, and the holidays are just around the corner. It s a perfect time to get creative with your SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine! Selecting Images for AUTOPUNCH Creating your own designs with AUTOPUNCH is a lot of fun! But, in order to achieve the best results, you need to start with a graphic file or art image that is clean and clearly defined. You cannot expect to get a beautiful embroidery design from a poor quality image! There are two types of image files that the computer recognizes: bitmap and vector. Bitmap files are usually imported to the computer from external means (such as a scanner or camera) and are often more realistic in appearance. Vector files are created from within the computer using an art drawing program (such as CorelDRAW, for example) and usually have a cartoon-like appearance. The software for the SINGER FUTURA TM sewing & embroidery machine will read either type of file (bitmap or vector), as long as it is one of these file formats: bmp,.jpg,.tif,.pcx,.pcd,.tga,.psd,.wmf or.emf. A bitmap is a graphic formed from tiny pixels in a grid. Each pixel contains color information for the image. The pixels are like colored dots which, when grouped together in the grid, form the image. Each of the pixels is assigned a color. Since they are so small, pixels often blend together to form various shades and blends of colors. What might appear to be just one color may actually be several different shades of one color, not detected by the eye. Although your eye may not see all of the different shades, the computer can! OCTOBER 2013 Issue

2 Selecting Images for AUTOPUNCH (cont d) Take a look at the illustration. The close up section of the fish image shows various pixels. You can see in the close up that there are actually several different shades of blue. For digitizing purposes, it is usually best to reduce the amount of colors within a color family to just one color. If these colors are not reduced to just one blue, the embroidery design will have a color stop for every blue the computer detects. Step 4 of the AUTOPUNCH Wizard provides the option of reducing the number of colors in the bitmap image. NOTE: See the article in the 2013 September issue of Embroidery Made Easy for more information about this topic. Resizing bitmap images may produce poor embroidery results, especially if you d like to make the images (and therefore the finished design) larger. If a bitmap image is increased in size, it will look pixilated and likely not digitize well. If you plan to use a bitmap file, it is best to start with the image as close as possible to the desired size of the finished design. Unlike bitmaps, vector images are art files that are made from lines, points, polygons and curves. When you increase the size of a vector image, the edges of each object within the graphic stay smooth and clean. Because vector images are not made up of a specific number of dots, they can be scaled to a larger size and not lose any image quality. Vector images are usually made up of solid areas of color. That's why most of the vector images you see tend to have a cartoon-like appearance, making them ideal for digitizing. This cartoon-like appearance provides distinct separations and lines between the elements or sections of an image. Perhaps the best way to illustrate a good image for digitizing would be to look at one that is not. At first glance, the image of the tulips (on the left) appears to be perfectly fine. It is simplistic, with sections that seem to be clearly defined. However, take a closer look. There are several areas that could create problems in the digitizing process. See the gaps in the black outline? Because the outlines are broken and not clearly defined, AUTOPUNCH will have trouble distinguishing one section from another. During the digitizing process, AUTOPUNCH looks for areas to fill in that are complete, i.e., free from gaps or holes. When it finds a section that is complete, it will be filled in. If it enters into an area that has a gap, it will flow into the adjacent area, treating it as if it were the same space. An easy way to think about this would be to imagine a fence around the area. If there is a break in the fence, it would be like leaving the gate open - whatever is inside of the fence could get out the open gate. In the flower image shown, the left two petals of the middle tulip would be treated as one section. The petals would look more like one solid blob rather than two separate petals. If there was a distinct line separating the petals in the image, the software would fill each section individually, which would look more like real tulip petals when embroidered. The stitch angles of the individual petals could then be edited, which would make the design more interesting. For example, varying the direction of the stitches within the design makes the finished design more appealing and life like. OCTOBER 2013 Issue Page 2

3 Selecting Images for AUTOPUNCH (cont d) Look again at the digitized example on the previous page and notice that the black outline is inconsistent and broken in several places. AUTOPUNCH will create the outline just as it detects it. Because the outline in the image of the tulips is fragmented, the satin stitch outline that surrounds the segments of the design will be fragmented as well. The petals are defined and more interesting when they are separated and have different stitch angles. Area filled in as one section. Several parts of the outline are missing. This is not to say that this image cannot be used. There are two options to use it: 1) edit the image, or 2) edit the design once its digitized using the Editing program. In this case, it would probably be easier to edit the image before digitizing. There is a function built into the software that allows you to edit graphic files. These editing tools can be found inside of the Draw Package, under the Create tab on the main tool bar. Use the editing tools to clean up an image, to change the size and colors, erase sections, draw, fill in, reduce colors and much more. We ll examine how to use these tools in detail in an upcoming issue of Embroidery Made Easy. For now, feel free to experiment with this feature using your own graphic files! Now let s take a look at an image that will work well in AUTOPUNCH. The image of this bear is simple. The lines and sections are clearly defined, and the colors are reduced to just five (the background is considered color). AUTOPUNCH will digitize this type of clean image easily. There are many places from which you can acquire graphic files. The internet has many sites that offer images or clip art files for free or for purchase. Simply perform an online search for the type of art topic that you are looking for and several sites should display. NOTE: Be aware that some clip art files are copyrighted and are protected by copyright law. To obtain graphic files, you can either create them in the computer using some type of computer drawing program or scan them into the computer using a scanner. The Draw Package within the software will allow you to create simple graphics and then save them to use later, either in AUTOPUNCH or for some other application. Basic shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and other polygons are easily created using the draw tools in the software. OCTOBER 2013 Issue Page 3

4 Selecting Images for AUTOPUNCH (cont d) Artwork that has been scanned can be a little trickier to use successfully in AUTOPUNCH. Remember that a scanner will create a bitmap-type image. Right from the start it will not be as clearly defined as a vector type file. Be sure that the artwork is clean, vivid and has lines that are clearly defined. Scan the art with a high resolution ( dpi), that is dots per inch. Also, try to scan at three to six times larger than the output. It is easier to shrink a bitmap down in size rather than to enlarge it. Sometimes the only way to know if an image is going to work well in AUTOPUNCH is to run it through the digitizing steps and see what happens! If the results are fairly good and it doesn t appear to need much editing, use it. If a few areas need to be edited, you can either choose to use the editing tools in the Draw Package to edit the image, or edit the design with the Editing software. If you want to digitize text, AUTOPUNCH is not the best program to use. The many curves, lines and angles of the individual letters will not process well. If the design you want to use contains lettering, it would be best to delete the lettering from the image, and then digitize the letters using the lettering program or HYPERFONT and add them back into the logo once digitized. If you still want to try digitizing lettering in AUTOPUNCH, be sure to look very closely at the image in Step 4 of the AUTOPUNCH Wizard, called Color Reduction. Lettering may appear to be only one color, but may actually have many colors that are readily visible. In the example below, there is a light grey that should be removed from the lettering. Best embroidery results for lettering can be achieved by using HYPERFONT. This is a program available for digitizing lettering with the SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine. It allows you to use your computer s True Type fonts to quickly and easily create beautiful lettering. As mentioned earlier, the images to be used for AUTOPUNCH should be clean, with lines that clearly divide one section from another. That said, AUTOPUNCH is not used for digitizing photographs. Photographs have subtle shades of colors and lack clear, distinct separation between elements - not appropriate for digitizing. There is a program available for digitizing photos with the SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine called PHOTOSTITCH. For more information on HYPERFONT or PHOTOSTITCH, please visit OCTOBER 2013 Issue Page 4

5 Changing the Size of a Design There are two methods that can be used to change the size of a design. The first method should only be used with designs in block form, which means those created in the software). Simply click and drag your cursor over the design to highlight it (or, you can right click for a pop-up menu and then choose Select Design to Move). Once the design has been selected, click and drag the corner of the bounding box that surrounds the design (either the lower right corner or upper left corner) to change to the desired new size. Step One Click and drag cursor over design to highlight (or select the design) Step Two Click on corner and move the bounding box to make the design larger or smaller Using this method, however, doesn t display for you an exact size of the finished design. To know exactly how large your design is after resizing this way, you will simply need to use the Ruler tool to measure the design. Also, if you use this method to enlarge an Imported design, the stitches will not recalculate but rather stretch, resulting in a design with less density. There is another method for resizing, which is used if you want to set the design to a specific size. This can be found under the Design tab on the main toolbar. Select the Design tab from the main toolbar. Select Change Size, and the Transform Design dialogue box will open. In this box, you are able to change the size of the design and rotate it. Using this function will allow you to specifically set the size of a design or rotate it with an exact degree of rotation. To resize in inches, select inches in the Units drop down menu. Type in the desired width for your design in the X box. Notice the lock icon. When this is selected, the width (X) and the height (Y) will stay proportionate when the design is resized. If this lock is not selected, the design will not keep its height/width ratio, so you will need to change height and width individually. Also in the dialogue box you will see the % sign. When this is selected, the size of the design can be change by percentage. Width Height Changes the size by a percentage. Locks the width and height ratio Rotation to the left or right can be changed by entering a specific value in the box. Checking this will keep the density of the design when resized. The current size is the actual size as it is now. To decrease the size of the design, type in a value less than 100%. To increase the size of the design, type in a value larger than 100%. For example, if you want the design to be 75% of the original size, you would type in 75%. OCTOBER 2013 Issue Page 5

6 Changing the Size of a Design (cont d) There is another selection within the Transform Design dialogue box called Activate Stitch Processor. This option default is to be selected. When this option is selected, the stitch processor will recalculate the stitch count of the design to retain original density. However, there is a range within which this is acceptable for it to work. You can resize between 51% and 199% of original size. If you resize beyond these parameters, the stitch count will remain the same and the stitch density will not recalculate. The stitch count for the design can be found in the main tool bar. Before After - without changing density. The stitches are too far apart. As an example of why it is important to use the Stitch Processor, look at the diagrams above which show before and after enlarging a design. If this butterfly is enlarged without changing the stitch density, the actual number of stitches to fill the larger butterfly stays the same. The stitches are just spread apart. Likewise, if you were to take the butterfly and make it smaller with out changing the density, the stitches would be closer together. One would produce a design with the stitches too far apart and the other would produce a design with the stitches too close together, making the fabric beneath, too hard and stiff. Proper density is important to maintain the integrity of the design. Fabric Basket This adorable fabric basket features machine embroidery, created using the AUTOPUNCH program from the SINGER FUTURA sewing & embroidery machine. Just download the image file from the SINGER website (see below), then follow these easy instructions for digitizing the design and sewing the basket. Practical and cute! Visit the SINGERCo.com/blog or SINGERCo.com/projects to download the project! Coming in the Next Issue Create Custom Lettering with HYPERFONT OCTOBER 2013 Issue Page 6