Free tool · Tajima DST

PNG to DST Converter

Upload a PNG and Stitch AI by Dynamic Mockups plans the stitches, shows you a preview drawn from the stitch plan, and writes a Tajima DST your machine can sew. The preview is free. The file comes with a free account.

  • Free preview, no account
  • Every file read back and verified before download

In short

What does a PNG to DST converter actually do?

A PNG stores pixels. A DST stores needle movements. Nothing in a PNG says where a stitch starts, which direction it runs or how dense it is, so a real converter has to digitize: split the artwork into regions, choose satin or fill for each, set angles, density and underlay, decide the sewing order, then write the commands. Stitch does that planning, shows you the result before you commit, and writes the DST with a production sheet.

Try it on your PNG

How it works

From PNG to a file the machine reads, in four steps

  1. Upload the PNG

    Transparent or flat background, up to 10 MB. The agent reads the artwork region by region and narrates what it sees.

  2. Set the finished size and the fabric

    Width in millimetres, from 20 to 460. The fabric sets pull compensation, density and underlay in the file; the preview does not change, the stitches do.

  3. Review the plan

    Stitch count, thread sequence, trims, finished size, and the list of things embroidery cannot reproduce in this artwork. Look at the preview at real size.

  4. Download the DST and the production sheet

    Create a free account and download. The sheet lists the colour sequence the DST cannot carry. Test-sew before a production run, as you would with any new file.

The format

What is inside a DST file

DST is Tajima's stitch format and the closest thing embroidery has to a universal file. Knowing what it holds explains why a production sheet travels with it.

Part of the file What it holds Why it matters to you
Header (512 bytes) Design name, total stitches, number of colour changes, the design's extents from the start point Your machine reads the size from here. Our verifier reads the same bytes back, so the stitch count on the sheet is the file's own count, not the planner's guess.
Stitch records (3 bytes each) A move of up to 12.1 mm in 0.1 mm units, plus flags: normal stitch, jump, or colour-change stop Any move longer than 12.1 mm is split into jumps. Our files keep jumps under that limit and stitches between 0.5 and 7 mm, which is what keeps needles and thread intact.
Trims By convention, three consecutive jumps Every trim costs the operator seconds. The production sheet counts them, so you can see the cost of a design before you sew it.
Colours None. DST stores stops, not thread colours This is why the production sheet exists: the ordered thread sequence with Madeira numbers, so the operator loads the right cone at each stop.
End record Marks the last stitch A file without it stops mid-design on some heads. Ours always carries one; the decoder checks.

Before you upload

Preparing a PNG for embroidery

Thread is a physical medium with a minimum width of about 1 mm, a palette of a few hundred colours and no way to show a tint. The better the PNG respects that, the fewer compromises the agent has to make.

Judge the preview at the finished size, not zoomed in. A detail you can only see at 400% will not survive a needle.

  • Export with a transparent background, or one flat colour you do not want stitched.
  • At least 1,000 px on the long side. Blurry edges become ragged satin.
  • Eight colours or fewer. Flatten gradients; the agent will otherwise band them and tell you.
  • Remove drop shadows, glows and 30% tints. Embroidery has no opacity.
  • Keep every stroke at or above 1 mm at the finished size. Thinner lines become run stitches.
  • Keep letters at or above 6 mm cap height for clean satin. Below that, ask for a plainer font.

Compatibility

Which machines read a DST file

Nearly every commercial head reads DST natively. Multi-needle Brother and Babylock machines read it alongside their own PES.

Check your machine's manual for the exact list. Formats other than DST appear in the menu only once verified on production.

Machine family Reads DST Native format Note
Tajima (TMBP, TMEZ, TFMX) Yes DST The format's home. Load by USB or network.
Barudan Yes DST, U01 DST is the everyday interchange format.
ZSK Yes DST, Z00 Reads DST on every current head.
Melco (EMT16, Bravo) Yes EXP Prefers EXP; DST loads without colour data as on any machine. Ask for EXP if your shop runs Melco.
Ricoma, Happy Japan, SWF Yes DST DST is the default on all three.
Brother PR-series, Babylock multi-needle Yes PES Read DST and PES. PES carries colours on the machine screen; see the JPG to PES converter.
Brother and Janome home machines Usually no PES, JEF Choose PES or JEF from the format menu instead.

Who uses it

Who converts PNGs to DST, and for what

  • Embroidery shops

    Quote while the customer is on the phone

    The stitch count is on the sheet the moment the plan is done. Say yes to the 12-cap order without a digitizing invoice.

  • Promo distributors

    Proof before the purchase order

    Send the client a proof drawn from the stitches and the count you quoted from, before anyone commits to a tape charge.

  • Merch brands

    The listing image and the file from one run

    Drop the patch on any of our cap, polo and hoodie mockups, and keep the DST for the shop that sews it.

  • Patch makers

    Patches with a merrow or stitched border

    Border width in millimetres, stitched or merrowed, on twill. The patch is the product; the DST is the file.

Side by side

Stitch AI, a digitizing bureau, and a free auto-tracer

Every column wins on at least one row, so read the whole table before you pick.

Stitch AI Digitizing bureau Free auto-tracer
What you see before paying Preview from the stitch plan, stitch count, compromises Usually nothing until the file is delivered A flat colour-reduced image
Position in your workflow Before you order After you commit, 4 to 24 hours Instant
The machine file DST plus production sheet; more formats from the same plan Any format you ask for Often several formats, no sheet
Revisions You make them, in the studio, at 11 pm Free, by email, in their hours Re-run and hope
Who is accountable when it fails You review with the inspector, then test-sew A named human who eats the remake Nobody
Price Free preview; the DST with a free account, free right now About $10 to $85 a design Free

PNG to DST questions

Straight answers on the file, the format and the free tier. Interested in something else?

Book a call →
Does a transparent PNG work?

Yes, and it is the best input. Transparent pixels are read as no stitches, so the outline of your design is exactly where the stitches stop. A white background works too; the agent detects it and treats it as background, but a transparent file removes the guess.

Why does my DST have no colours?

The DST format stores needle movements and colour-change stops, not colours. That is true of every DST from every digitizer. The production sheet that comes with your file lists the thread sequence with Madeira numbers, so the operator loads the right cone at each stop.

How large can the design be?

From 20 to 460 mm on the long side. Enter the finished width and the plan is scaled to real millimetres, not pixels. Your machine's hoop is the practical limit; a left chest is usually 89 to 102 mm wide, a cap front about 57 mm high.

Can I look inside the DST before I download it?

Yes. The preview shows the stitches, the trims and the density; the studio's inspector lets you play the file stitch by stitch.

Will small text in my PNG stitch?

Letters below about 6 mm cap height lose their shape in satin, and script below that closes up. The compromises list tells you when text in your artwork is under the floor. A 4 mm tagline will not sew cleanly anywhere; size it up, or drop it from the cap version.

Is the DST really free?

The preview is free without an account. Downloading the machine file creates a free account, and the DST is free right now. When paid plans arrive, the price will be on the pricing page, never in a quote request.

Can I change the file after I download it?

Yes. You edit the design, not the stitch file: treatment, angle, density, colour, finish, underlay and compensation per region in the studio, and the DST is re-planned from your edits every time. Every later export of the same artwork is free.

Can I use the DST commercially?

Yes. The file is yours to sew, sell and reuse on any machine, and we never resell your artwork.

See your PNG stitched before you sew it.

Free preview, the stitch count on the sheet, and a Tajima DST you keep. Then one test sew-out, like always.

Convert a PNG to DSTBook a 15-minute file review

Watch

Stitch AI by Dynamic Mockups, in action