Demo · Embroidery file viewer
Embroidery file viewer: open DST and PES files in your browser
This online embroidery file viewer opens DST, PES, PEC, JEF, EXP, VP3, XXX, U01 and TBF files without installing any software and draws the design stitch by stitch on fabric. You see the size, stitch count, colour sequence and trims before production. The file is read in your browser and also sent to our workshop, where it is kept for 60 days; the viewer itself never converts or edits it.
Last updated:
Key facts
- Opens
- DST, PES, PEC, JEF, EXP, VP3, XXX, U01, TBF
- You see
- Stitched preview, size, stitches, colours, jumps and trims
- On the product
- Polo shirt, T-shirt, sweatshirt, medical top, cap, towel, apron
- Conversion
- Not in the demo; our workshop converts between DST, PES, JEF, EXP, VP3 and similar formats and corrects files digitized elsewhere (details in the quote)
- Our embroidery files
- DST as standard; PES on request
- Minimum order
- 10 pieces
Embroidery file viewer demo
The viewer opens empty. Choose your own file or drag it onto the preview to see it stitched on fabric or on a product, or open the sample DST file with one click.
The embroidery files you open, their preview and the steps you take in the demo are sent to our workshop and kept for 60 days. Privacy notice
How do you open a DST file?
DST and the other embroidery machine files do not open in an ordinary image viewer, because there is no picture inside them. They hold the points the needle travels to and the commands the machine follows: a stitch, a jump (the needle moves without sewing), a trim (the thread is cut) and a colour change. The viewer reads these commands and draws the design stitch by stitch:
- Press “Open embroidery file” or drag the file onto the preview.
- The viewer reads the file in your browser and draws the design on the fabric you choose, with the texture of real thread.
- The size, the stitch count, the colour sequence and the number of jumps and trims appear under the preview.
- For files without colour information, such as DST, you pick the thread colours from the chart yourself.
- “Watch the stitching” draws the design in the order the machine sews it, colour by colour.
- “On the product” places the design at its real size on a polo shirt, T-shirt, sweatshirt, medical top, cap, towel or apron, at the placement you choose.
Which embroidery file formats can you open?
Every machine brand has its own file format. Some formats store the thread colours, others only the points where the colour changes. The viewer opens these nine:
| Format | Machine brand | Colour information |
|---|---|---|
| DST | Tajima | None; the colour order is assigned to the needles on the machine |
| TBF | Tajima | Yes |
| U01 | Barudan | None |
| EXP | Melco | None |
| PES | Brother | Yes (a palette in older versions) |
| PEC | Brother | Palette |
| JEF | Janome | Palette |
| XXX | Singer | Yes |
| VP3 | Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff | Yes |
Why won’t EMB or ART files open?
EMB (Wilcom) and ART (Bernina) are the working files of embroidery programs. The machine does not read them directly, and they open only in their own software. Save the design there as a machine file such as DST, and open that file in the viewer. Compressed formats such as HUS and VIP do not open in this version of the viewer.
DST or PES: what is the difference?
DST is the file format of Tajima machines. It carries the needle coordinates, the jumps and the colour-change points, but not the thread colours: the colour order is assigned to the needles on the machine. PES is the format of Brother machines and stores the thread colours as well. That is why a DST file opens here in sample colours, while a PES file shows the colours it was saved with.
We prepare the embroidery file in DST format as standard, and in PES if you ask for it. We embroider on Tajima and Barudan multi-head embroidery machines in our own workshop.
What should you check before production?
An embroidery file often comes from somewhere else: an earlier supplier, a design agency or a colleague. Before you order, the viewer lets you check the points that matter for a quote without installing embroidery software:
- Size: whether the design fits the position you have in mind, such as a left chest, a back or the front of a cap.
- Stitch count: it drives the stitching time; how prices are worked out is explained in the FAQ.
- Colours: how many thread colours and colour changes the design needs.
- Lettering: whether small text is still large enough to be legible in thread.
- Trims and jumps: how often the machine cuts the thread or moves without sewing.
Common sizes and limits
A left-chest logo is usually 7.5–10 cm wide; on a T-shirt or polo shirt it sits about 18–23 cm below the shoulder seam, with its centre about 7.5–12.5 cm to the side of the centre front. A back logo is usually 25–30 cm wide, a sleeve logo usually 6–8 cm. These are common ranges in the trade; the exact size is fixed on the sample. In embroidery, letters should not be smaller than about 5 mm in height, and a satin column needs a width of at least about 1 mm. A satin column is a narrow band of long, glossy stitches running back and forth between two edges; most lettering is sewn this way.
What a viewer cannot tell you
A file can look right on screen and still need changes for your fabric: the viewer cannot tell whether its density and underlay suit it. Underlay is the layer of sparse stitches sewn first to hold the fabric steady under the top stitches, and a file made for a piqué polo shirt usually needs changes before it suits a terry towel. We check this on the sample. We start production once you have approved the sample; the approved sample is the reference for the whole run.
No embroidery file yet? We digitize your logo in our workshop, turning it into a file the embroidery machine can read. Our English home page explains which logo file to send.
How do you get a quote with your file?
Under the preview, the “Ask for a quote on WhatsApp” button saves your file and its preview for the quote and opens a WhatsApp message with its code and link and a summary: the file name, the size, the stitch count, the number of colours and, in the product view, the product, the placement and the product colour. You do not need to attach the file to the chat. To send only the summary, use “Write without saving” under the button.
Minimum order, lead times, pricing and shipping are answered in the FAQ on our English home page.
What happens to your file?
The file is read and drawn in your browser. The file itself, its preview and the steps you take in the viewer are also sent to our workshop and kept for 60 days; when you ask for a quote on WhatsApp, the file is saved for the quote and its code and link are added to the message. We also note the type of device, the operating system family, the country and whether you came from a search engine, social media or another page; your IP address and cookies are not part of this record.
Anyone who has the coded link of a saved file can see its preview; the link is hidden from search engines, and only our workshop sees the original file. After 60 days everything is deleted automatically. To have it deleted sooner, write to us with the day, the approximate time and the page of your visit, or with the file code. Our full privacy notice under Turkish data protection law is available in Turkish: KVKK privacy notice.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my DST file have no colours?
DST stores the points the needle travels to and the places where the colour changes, but not the thread colour: the colour order is assigned to the needles on the machine. The viewer draws such files in sample colours, and you can change them from the thread chart.
How do I open a PES file?
Drag the PES file onto the preview or choose it with “Open embroidery file”; the viewer draws the design with the thread colours stored in the file. In older PES versions the colour comes from Brother’s fixed thread list, so it is approximate.
Can the viewer convert my file to DST?
No. The viewer only opens and shows a file; it does not convert, edit or export it. Conversion and correction are done in our workshop. We convert embroidery files between common formats such as DST, PES, JEF, EXP and VP3. We also correct embroidery files that were digitized elsewhere: we adjust the size, density, colour sequence and trims, adapt the file to a new fabric and deliver the corrected file. Which format you need and the details of the conversion are settled in the quote.
Can I see the design on a shirt or a cap?
Yes. The “On the product” view places the design, at the size stored in the file, on the product and placement you choose. If a logo is larger than the recommended size for that placement, for example a cap front panel or a left chest, the viewer warns you. The product images are representative; garments are scaled to size L, and the exact position is fixed on the sample.
Is my file uploaded to your server?
Yes. The file is read and drawn in your browser, and the file itself, its preview and the steps you take in the viewer are also sent to our workshop and kept for 60 days, then deleted automatically; the notice next to the file button says so too. When you press “Ask for a quote on WhatsApp”, the file and its preview are saved for the quote under a code that goes into the message; only our workshop sees the original file.
Quote
Send your file for a quote
Send the embroidery file, the product and the quantity on WhatsApp or by e-mail. We check the file and reply with a written quote; production starts after sample approval.
Working hours: Monday–Saturday 08:30–19:00 · Istanbul time (UTC+3)