INTRODUCTION

The Wilcom API service offers customers who want to use their own specific fonts, a “font upload” service. For this, Wilcom engineers test the user-supplied fonts and make sure that they can be handled by the API Embroidery Engine without problem then “encode” the fonts, so they can be only used by the given API customer. There are a few technical and legal issues to consider.

HOW TO CREATE A WILCOM FONT?

Wilcom fonts can be created by using the Font Creator Element in the Wilcom EmbroideryStudio software. This feature allows users to create new fonts, digitize each letter and add to the given font. Detailed instructions about creating font can be found in the EmbroideryStudio User documentation. The Wilcom fonts are .ESA files.

FONT SIZE CONSIDERATIONS

Unlike graphics fonts, embroidery fonts cannot be scaled up or down to any size because the quality of stitching will not be acceptable. It is advisable that the customer-supplied fonts have recommendation for the website developer to limit the scale of the font on the website, so it is not permitted to the website visitor to enlarge or reduce the font beyond the recommended limits.

LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

Customers have to make sure that the fonts they upload are not Copyright protected. Wilcom is not checking Copyright and our Terms and Conditions outline that any content on the customer’s website is the responsibility of the customer. Font owners regularly look for Copyright infringement on websites.

DOUBLE BYTE (ASIAN) FONTS - FILENAMES

The Wilcom API supports double-byte (for example Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc.) characters. Please note though that the font file names that are supplied to Wilcom for upload must contain only English characters or numbers. This is a technical requirement for the upload process. If the customers want to display such file name on their website or local applications, they can map (cross-reference) the file names between the English file name and the proper “display name” in the original language.

API EMBROIDERY ENGINE VERSION – V4.5

The Protection of fonts is only available in our V4.5 engine. Users who want to use the font upload service need to make sure that their api calls point to the correct URL: http://ewa.wilcom.com/4.5  

Users connecting to our earlier engines, for example http://ewa.wilcom.com/2.0, need to change to v4.5 otherwise their uploaded fonts can be used by all other V2.0 users.