Okay, I have been Creating Designs and collection my Share of designs sense may of 1998.. 4 emabroidery machines my self all Different Formats.
When I purchased my first machine I had been doing the research and Learned that I would need some kind of machine format program to do all of the abouve, So I purchased the Bernina Artista Software, That gave me my ART format colors when opened.... but it is all dependant on the Digitizer and what format they Digitize in? the Original File.
But all of the Big companies all will have a Color sheet to go with each Design, Emblibrary, Dakota, OESD, This is how it works... even Design packs at Your machine Dealers will come with color Charts.
There is a Major reason for this!
Even the Big large Companies do not own all of the Software programs put out by all of the machine Companies...
I own Artista, (ART) format.. and Wilcom (EMB).
But, I will work designs in both formats to get better functions, and options in each program.. I also save in different formats as they do funny things with the coding of the design when saved or Converted. some add Stitches, Some loose Stitches, and some Formats will give you funky colors.
The machines do not See Real colors... the Design is programed with STOPS... so if there is 10 colors in your Design, then there will be 10 Color stops.. well if I stitck to only one digitizing program like Artista (ART).. Then saved it into ART format, then and only then will I see it open with the correct 10 colors!!!!
But, if some one opening it in (PES), Brother machine Format, he may have 10 colors but they will be all funky colors.
and PES when I convert, from Artista will 100% of the time change my design, it will Add unwanted stitches, or subtract stitches, or even turn a Jump stitch in a Stitched down Running stitch right across your work...
I have two of the most costly Embroidery programs and there are things I like and hate about each of them..
I also Use Buzz tools a lot when Converting machine formats for all of my Customers.
So say after I create lets see like 10 designs, and save them to (DST ) machine format, Commercial based machine format I find id the best. then I could Zip up all ten of then and (Only) sale them to DST machine format owners only!!!
but what about the other 18 Machine format owners out there???? Brother, Phaff, Singer, Husk, and the off market Machines out there????
I am out out about $10,000. already Just for the Software's I have. so there is no way anyone, even the Large companies have all of them on the Market. so this is why the need of the Color Charts....
As if I save in say, (ART Format, then Convert to (PES) those colors are changed by the Software. and even the machine.. because the Defualts are all Different in each software and Machine....
It might read, Thread color ARC Poly thread code #00231, as Some other Number or some other brand!! so now we have 18 to 20 Machine Formats to deal with, and we now have what 10 or Brands of Thread colors to deal with anywhere from 200 colors to 4oo colors, whew, I tired of even typing all of this let alone know all of this Information.
Sure Ipurchased my First level of ARTISTA (ART) in may of 1998 for $2000. then paid for classes and spent 3 years learning it, it had what 4 main brands of Thread charts stored in it, and 10 main Machine Formats stored in the software, all of that had to be coded into the software, so the Company pick the most used and put it in there. Great, for Home machines this is what I was told the best TOL, Top of the Line, Software... so I am good right?
wrong when I saved my Design a ART format to PES... then some one with PES got it and opened it, she says hey why does my lady have green skin???? Hummm, when I open it in my machine in art as I saved it the lady looks Normal!!!!! well guess what being that PEDesign software did not use the same Code Writing software as Benina did as they are a smaller software company or for some reason so they only coded in 2 mail thread charts and only put in 200 color coded comands in their software....
So you Remeber my 10 color design??? well lets say I am using a color skem mucth like we do in quilting, say DK, Pink, and Med Pink, and last Light pink.... well that pes software only would put in two pinks coding, or two of a shade thinking that is close enough! but wait she opened my 10 color design and got funky colors, why because her software did color coding and designs different and just combined those pink into the ones it had coding for!!!
Well now you loose a color the software conbined them, and now when she opens her software she gets the design with only 9 Colors in it!!! Not good as the whole design is there, but now 2 colors will be only 1 color.
But wait not finished, the Software keeps getting upgraded to more and more color Charts and Machine formats so now I have to every 4 years Buy the upgrade to keep up with the changes, $599.00 every 4 years for most companies.
so now we have 20 Machine formats but thereis always some companies behind the time or less to purchase so you get different formatting and color coding..
That is why we can not purchase every Machine Software, and every single up grade to all of these just to keep up with this years new Machine with yet another format, VP3, ot DST, PES, XXX,VIP, SHV, SEW, HUS, ARTV2, ARTV3,ARTV4, ARTV5, and ARTV6...or EMB, PCS, JEF, CSD,... no one could keep up with it all and switch and save each..
I Hope this helps more understand why there is a need for so much software and why so many do things different?
These machine companies do not want to make this unisom, or easy for us or they would not make the Money...
did you know that the (ART) owned by Bernina or OESD, will not let any of the other Machine companies put the coding into their software........all companies have the same on other things they own and want to keep private for their own customers. that makes it even hard for the customers as well as the software writers...
Well I know what does this have to do with cataloging Pictures? well it is about pictures and when you open it with one software why you see green heads or will not load at all because the same for their software unless it cost a fortune and has every single code up to dat for every machine format??? it will look funny when you open with your software..
Remember the machine companies will not sale them the rights to load their design info, so that makes it hard on all software writing company..
so they all will not do everything, or own everything and have everything for one reason!!!! CONTROL....