How to create Production-ready Embroidery Lettering with Wilcom API?

INTRODUCTION

Let’s imagine that we are selling garments on our website that are made of 4 different fabrics.

We have FLEECE jumpers, WOOL jackets, SILK blouses and POLYESTER-COTTON polo shirts.

The problem is that they all need different stitch settings (density, underlay, pull compensation, minimum stitch length, etc.). How can we create embroidery lettering that would be production-ready, without the need to edit it further?

The secret is to make one specific template for each type of fabric. For this, you will need to have Wilcom EmbroideryStudio software.

STEPS

STEP1 Lettering Preparation

In our Wilcom EmbroideryStudio e4.5 software we prepare a design with Lettering. (I used the Wilcom Script 1 Font)

This can be prepared for the garment already (Baseline type, length, Letter size, Font, etc.) You probably will allow the customer to change the Font, the Color.

STEP2 Creating different EMB files for each fabric type.

In EmbroideryStudio, the embroidery design can be set up for the given fabric. This automatically adjusts the stitch densities, pull compensation, underlay stitches, minimum stitch, etc. parameters for the given garment.

As we have 4 different fabrics in our example, now we need to first setup Fleece

Once this is done we save this design for the fleece fabric. I name this Fleece.EMB

Note: Optionally, I can select the Thread Chart as well, so the design will have the proper Thread Color Code in it

After this, we change the fabric to Wool and then Save As “Wool.EMB”

We will repeat the same for Silk and Poly-Cotton and save “Silk.EMB” and “PolyCotton.EMB”

STEP 3 – This is website development work - Assign EMB file to Garment.

When the users select the garment they want to decorate, your website assigns the appropriate EMB file.

STEP 4 The API Call

Earlier you used the api/newDesign call to generate letters. But to be able to utilise the different fabric settings, you need to use the api/editDesign call. This can edit an existing EMB file. Our EMB fabric template file has only one lettering object in it, nothing else. But it already is set up for the proper fabric type.

Let’s see what happens on the Website when we choose this design!

We are showing a Wilcom Concept App below that has a simple user interface, only to show the functionality, nothing fancy. (This Concept App is accessible through the Wilcom API developer website.)

Select our design (Choose file), which is then uploaded to the server which returns with the design data and the Trueview image. In this example I chose the PolyCotton.EMB.

Note that the App recognises the lettering object in the design. (Also, the Madeira1481 thread.)

Regarding the Font, Letter size, Color, we may or may not allow the user to change those, that is a matter of commercial choice.

Type in the text (I typed “My Polo” and press “Update Design” (for developers: you can turn on the “Show Design recipe” to see how the Api call happens)

PRODUCTION-READY DESIGN

Note for developers: if you want a production-ready machine file that can be loaded to the embroidery machine, you need to use the proper extension (instead of .EMB, .DST for Tajima, .TAP for Happy, etc)

MULTIPLE COLORWAYS

When preparing the Design in EmbroideryStudio, we can setup multiple colorways in the design. This means that if the Garment catalogue provides for example 10 different colors of the same garment, we can have 10 different thread color arrangements.

To properly utilise this feature, the web developer can create relationship between the selected garment color and the appropriate Colorway, i.e. calling “Colorway 2” Colorway 3”, etc.

I.e. you can number the garment colours your website offers and then if the user select “Colour Number 3” your website program will insert “Colorway 3” into the below line in the API call.

    <design file="PolyCotton.EMB" colorwaytype="current" colorway="Colorway 1">