What File Format Does My Embroidery Machine Use? [Brand Table]

What File Format Do Embroidery Machines Use?

There’s no single universal embroidery format. The file your machine needs depends on its brand: every machine reads one native format and usually a handful of others.

Most commercial machines read Tajima DST, which is the closest thing the industry has to a shared standard. Home machines are pickier, so you match the file to the brand.

PES for Brother and Baby Lock, JEF for Janome, DST for Tajima and most commercial machines, EXP for Bernina and Melco, and VP3 for Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff.

The format decides one more thing: whether your thread colors are saved inside the file.

Some formats carry your color palette along with the stitches, so the design opens with the right threads already assigned. Others store only the stitch path, which means you choose colors again at the machine. We’ll flag that for every format below.

Embroidery File Formats by Brand [Quick-Reference Table]

Here’s the whole map of embroidery formats by brand in one place: the native format for each machine, the other formats it usually reads, and whether your thread colors travel inside the file.

Brand	Native Format	Also Reads	Colors Saved in File
Brother	PES (and PEC)	DST and more on newer models	✅ PES carries colors
Baby Lock	PES (and PEC)	DST on newer models	✅ PES carries colors
Janome	JEF, JEF+	DST, plus more on newer models	✅ JEF carries colors
Bernina	EXP (ART in software)	DST and others by model	❌ needs a color file
Melco	EXP	DST and Tajima formats	❌ needs a color file
Husqvarna Viking	VP3 (older VIP)	DST on newer models	✅ VP3 carries colors
Pfaff	VP3 (older VIP)	DST on newer models	✅ VP3 carries colors
Singer	XXX	DST on some models	✅ XXX carries colors
Tajima	DST	most formats via software	❌ no colors stored
Ricoma (commercial)	DST	PES, JEF via software	❌ no colors stored
Happy (commercial)	TAP, reads DST	PES, JEF via software	❌ with DST

The “also reads” column shifts by model and model year. Newer machines almost always accept more formats than older ones, so check your manual for the exact list before you trust it.

Buying designs instead of making them? Good news. Most design shops sell a zip file with several formats bundled inside, often PES, JEF, DST, VP3, and EXP together, so you grab the one your machine reads and ignore the rest.

That’s also why the colors column matters. If a bundle only includes a DST, your palette won’t come with it, and you’ll be picking thread colors by hand.

These formats come straight from the makers. For the exact list your model supports, see Brother, Janome, and the mySewnet platform that powers Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff.

Keep this table open on your phone at the machine so you never second-guess which format to export.

And once you know your format, you’ll want to show the finished piece off. Our roundup of the best embroidery mockup generators covers the fastest ways to put your design on a real hoodie, cap, or tote bag.

Brother and Baby Lock Embroidery Formats: PES

If you own a Brother or a Baby Lock, your format is PES. The two brands share embroidery technology, so a file that runs on one usually runs on the other.

So, what file type do Brother embroidery machines use? PES, first and foremost.

The PES file format carries everything: the stitches and your thread colors. Open a PES file and the palette comes with it, ready to sew.

Its sibling is PEC, the stripped-down version that holds the stitch data without the richer color and design info. You’ll see PEC inside the Brother world, but PES is the one you want to export and keep.

One thing to watch: PES has gone through several versions over the years. A very old Brother machine may not open a file saved in the newest PES version, so if a design refuses to load, re-save it to an earlier version in your software.

What else do these machines read? That depends on the model.

Newer Brother and Baby Lock machines read a longer list than older ones, and many current models can import DST. The catch with DST is that it brings no colors, so you’ll assign thread colors at the machine or in your software before stitching.

If your model is a few years old, don’t assume DST will open. Check the manual, and when in doubt, export PES.

Janome Embroidery Format: JEF and JEF Plus

The Janome embroidery format is JEF. Newer Janome machines use JEF+, an upgraded version built for on-screen editing and richer color data.

Both carry your thread colors. JEF stores the palette, and JEF+ does the same while giving newer machines more room to resize and rearrange the design on screen.

If you’re on an older Janome or an Elna, you may also run into SEW, the format those machines used before JEF arrived. New designs rarely ship as SEW anymore, so convert when you need it.

Janome machines are flexible about what else they open. Many models read DST, and newer ones accept a wider list. As always with DST, no colors ride along, so you set them yourself.

For the exact formats your model supports, Janome publishes the list for each machine, so confirm there before you commit to a file type.

Bernina, Melco, Husqvarna Viking, and Pfaff: EXP and VP3

Two camps here, two very different formats.

Bernina and Melco use EXP. It’s a clean, widely compatible stitch format with one quirk: EXP stores the stitches but not the thread colors.

To keep your palette, a separate color file travels alongside the EXP, usually a small companion file your software writes for you. Lose that file and you lose the colors, so keep the pair together.

Bernina machines work from ART inside the design software, then export EXP for stitching, and most Bernina models also read DST and several other formats depending on the generation.

If a design lands in your inbox as a Bernina ART file, remember that’s the design-software format. For the machine itself, you’ll usually export it to EXP or DST first.

Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff use VP3. Both brands sit under the same software roof, the mySewnet platform, and the VP3 file format is their shared native type. The older format you may still run into is VIP, VP3’s predecessor.

Here’s the good news for these two: VP3 carries your thread colors inside the file. The palette opens with the design, no companion file needed.

What about DST on these machines? Many newer Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff, Bernina, and Melco models read it, but support varies by model and age. Older machines may refuse a DST outright, so confirm yours reads it before you rely on it.

Which Machines Read Tajima DST?

DST is the Tajima format, and it’s the workhorse of the industry. Most commercial embroidery machines read it, which is why it’s the safest file to send when you don’t know the exact machine on the other end.

It comes from Tajima, a Japanese machine maker, and it’s a stitch-only format: pure needle movement with no extra frills. That bare-bones design is exactly why so many machines, old and new, can read it.

Here’s the trade-off with the DST file format. It stores the stitches and the color-change commands, but it does not store the actual thread colors.

The machine knows when to stop for a color change. It just doesn’t know which color you meant, so whoever stitches the file picks the threads.

If you want the full breakdown of the format, its history, and its limits, we wrote a separate guide on what a DST file is.

Why does this matter for print-on-demand? Two reasons.

If you run a commercial machine, DST is almost certainly your common format, so build your workflow around it. And if you send designs to a contractor or a fulfillment partner, DST is the file they’ll most likely ask for.

So if you’re on a commercial machine or outsourcing production, route everything through DST and confirm the thread colors in writing. That one habit prevents most wrong-color reruns.

💡 Pro tip: Before any file reaches the machine, preview your design with our embroidery mockup generator to catch color and placement problems early. More on that below.

How to Get the Right File for Your Machine

Here’s the hard truth. Your embroidery machine cannot sew a PNG or a JPG.

Those are pictures made of pixels, and a machine needs stitch instructions, a path that tells the needle where to go, in what order, and with which colors.

Turning artwork into that stitch file is called digitizing. If you’re new to it, our guide on how embroidery digitizing works walks through the basics.

You’ve got three routes to a machine-ready file:

• Hire a digitizer: Best for complex logos and tricky fabrics. You send the artwork, they send back a stitch file. It costs money and takes time, but the quality is dependable.
• Use digitizing software: Best if you plan to do this often. There’s a learning curve and a price tag, yet you control every stitch.
• Use AI tools plus a converter: Fastest and cheapest for simple designs. An AI embroidery digitizer turns your image into stitches, and a free PNG to DST converter hands you a DST you can take to most machines.

One honest note on formats. At Dynamic Mockups, our Stitch AI and conversion tools export DST today, which covers commercial machines and any home machine that reads DST. PES, JEF, VP3, and EXP are in verification right now.

So if you’re on Brother, Baby Lock, Janome, Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff, Bernina, or Melco, export to DST and confirm your machine reads it first, or run the file through your own software to save it in your native format.

One more check before you stitch: make sure the design fits your hoop. The right format won’t help if the file is built for a 5×7 hoop and yours tops out at 4×4, so confirm the dimensions when you export or convert.

Before you spend a cent on digitizing, there’s a faster way to test an idea: see it stitched.

You can make an embroidery mockup online and preview the result on a finished sweatshirt or cap in seconds, with no Photoshop and no machine time. It’s the quickest way to catch a color clash or a sizing problem before it costs you thread.

✅ Pick your format from the table.
✅ Digitize the artwork or convert your image.
✅ Preview it as a mockup before you stitch.

Start by previewing your next design as an embroidery mockup, free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What file format do Brother embroidery machines use?

Brother embroidery machines use PES. It is the native format for both Brother and Baby Lock, which share embroidery technology. PES carries your thread colors inside the file, so the palette opens ready to sew. Its sibling PEC holds stitch data without the full color info. Many newer Brother models also read DST, but DST brings no colors, so export PES when you can.

Can every embroidery machine read a DST file?

No. DST is the closest thing to an industry standard and most commercial machines read it, which makes it the safest file to send when you do not know the exact machine. But home machines vary. Many newer Brother, Janome, Viking, Pfaff, Bernina and Melco models accept DST, while older machines may refuse it. Always check your manual before you rely on DST.

What is the difference between a PES and a DST file?

PES is Brother and Baby Lock’s native format and it stores both the stitches and your thread colors, so the design opens with the right palette assigned. DST is Tajima’s stitch-only format read by most commercial machines. It saves the stitch path and color-change commands but not the actual colors, so whoever sews it picks the threads by hand.

What embroidery file format does Janome use?

Janome uses JEF, and newer machines use JEF+, an upgraded version built for on-screen editing and richer color data. Both carry your thread colors inside the file. Older Janome and Elna machines may use SEW, the format that came before JEF. Many Janome models also read DST, though DST brings no colors, so you assign them yourself.

How do I convert an image to my embroidery machine’s format?

A machine cannot sew a PNG or JPG, so the image must be digitized into stitch instructions first. You have three routes: hire a digitizer for complex work, buy digitizing software for full control, or use an AI digitizer plus a converter for speed. The fastest path turns your image into a DST, which most machines read.