Reggirl, I use Embird, and I love it. I got it when I still had money :), but it was not thousand of dollars. They have 30 days trial version. Hugs, Yoriko

Asked and answered so many times. And what are you still doing up at this hour of the mortning? LOL!!!

Anyway for my money it's Embird.

If you go to the topics at the left side of this page, you'll see tags for 'digitizing' (USA spelling)& 'software', you should also type in the search box Embird and Digitising (Aussie spelling) and you'll find so many posts on this subject. Far more than I could tell you at 4 AM. LOL!!!

Have fun, you'll be reading for hours. Oh and don't forget Amy's article, she's really great.
hugs n roses, I'm off to sleep now, :-) Meganne

I use DigitizerPro. It's fairly easy to use, but it is expensive. I bought it from my dealer about a year after I bought my machine. From the other sites I visit, it seems the most popular are Embird, DigitizerPro, and Artista. Wilcom writes DigiPro for Janome, and Artista for Bernina; however they don't talk to each other. The right program will be what is most compatable with your machine. If I had it to do over, I would look into Embird.

Reggirl, I would like to try some digitizing. This basic one from Rose Cottage is the one I would like to try. It is cheaper then many others, and she is a great digitizer. You can check out her site on OPW's. H&*.

Reggie, I don't know the program Buzz2Stitches, but if it's what's billed as "auto-digitizing", that's probably the problem with them coming out a 'blurred mess'. As sophisticated as computers are, they just can't tell what a design is, only what percentage is red, what percentage is blue, etc. The auto programs use some formula for calculating what kind of stitches to put where, but the program can't "know" that an animal has 2 eyes, and they should both be satin fill or weave fill, but not one of each. The only way to get a design you're going to be truly happy with is to manually punch or digitize it. That means you're defining the outline, and telling the program what color and fill to use in that space. You also decide which parts get sewn first, next, etc., that's called "pathing". There's lots more to it, but perhaps there are tutorials for the Buzz2Stitches? Is it a manual digitizing program as well? Perhaps someone out there is familiar with it. Just don't ever believe any hype about "all you have to do is 'click' to make a stitch file", because it's hogwash. A digitizing program doesn't have to be super-expensive to be good, but it's going to take some learning on your part. Good luck in your search. Hugs, Marji