You can use them on the machine, however it is much quicker as easier to do in software since it maps true type fonts you can type them in using you keyboard rather than bringing in each individual letter on you machine. So it just depends on how much lettering you intend to do. If you intend to do a lot of lettering in your embroidery I would suggest investing in a software embrilliance has alpha tricks that is awesome for a reasonable price. I love the base software by itself, but lettering is super easy on it but you need alpha tricks to map fonts to your keyboard