Impressions - January 2013 - (Page 36)

DIGITIZING ARTISTRY FIRST PLACE: “Photogirl” QDigitizing 28248 N. Tatum Blvd. #BI-220 Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (877) 733-4390 qdigitizing.com DESIGN DETAILS Number of colors in design: 15 Thread changes/stops: 47 Thread type: Madeira Classic 40 Stitch count: 283,251 Embroidery machine: Barudan 15 needle BEVT series. Digitizer: Steve Freeman s ometimes, a little downtime can lead to a lot of productivity. According to QDigitizing owner Steve Freeman, it was during the company’s downtime in January 2012 that its art director found a stock art image online and imagined what it would look like in embroidery. She downloaded the image, cleaned it up to make it more friendly for digitizing, and the plan was set in motion for the company’s submission in the 34th annual Impressions Awards. The digitizers’ collective eye for detail and perfection won out, and “Photogirl” was awarded ﬁrst place in the Digitizing Artistry category. QDigitizing, which specializes in embroidery digitizing and vector art services, has been in business since 2008, but Freeman has been a professional digitizer in the commercial embroidery business since the late-1980s. This is the compa- ny’s fourth time entering the Impressions Awards competition. Last year, its “Stain Glass” submission took third place in the same category. For this year’s submission, QDigizing’s creative director, Flora, came up with the design. The entire process took seven steps, from creative, conceptual, programming and sampling, all the way through to veriﬁcation, editing and ﬁnalizing. Freeman used different stitch lengths in the ﬁlls, and a lot of creativity by incorporating different stich directions and layers to give the design a blended look. “At the same time I was using the creative side (right brain), I tried to use the logical side (left brain) to reduce densities and proper use of underlay so the design would not pucker,” he says. Using a Barudan 15-needle BEVT series embroidery machine, Freeman found that the biggest challenge was creating the design with only 15 colors, which is generally the maximum recommended amount for commercial embroidery machines. “The original art had at least 45 different colors, not counting blending and effects,” he says. Freeman focused his attention on ensuring the color sequence and design paths ran in a way that reduced the stitch count, where possible, to minimize or eliminate puckering. “It was also very challenging to keep this design in a true rectangular shape,” Freeman says. “Any design with this many stitches will try to push and pull, causing distortions on the edges.” Also, the pathing had to be done in such a way to minimize the thread trims or, according to Freeman, “this design could have taken 40% more time to sew.” — M.H. SECOND PLACE: “True Love” QDigitizing Cave Creek, Ariz. (877) 733-4390 qdigitizing.com THIRD PLACE: “Malicoat Artistry” California Embroidery Fresno, Calif. (559) 447-5304 californiaembroidery.net 36 Impressions | January 2013 impressionsmag.com http://www.qdigitizing.com http://www.qdigitizing.com http://www.californiaembroidery.net http://www.impressionsmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - January 2013

Impressions - January 2013
Table of Contents
First Impressions
From the Show Director
FYI
Product Gallery
ISS Conference
Sharing the Spotlight
Tracking Today's T-Shirt Trends
Tees: Tried and True
How to Shop a Trade Show
Shop Spotlight
Embroidery Production
Screen Printing Technique
Digital Decorating
Online Directory
Business to Business
Classifieds
Ad Index

Impressions - January 2013