I understand that Janome embroidery machines require these cards to transfer designs, but where do you get the cards? Are they like memory cards that other machines use?

My Janome has 4 options of transferring the designs. My choice is to keep a USB cord hooked up to my machine from my computer and transfer designs to my machine using Janome Customizer software that I purchased. Another, but cumbersome, option is to download designs from the computer onto a USB memory stick (which must be formatted first) and then put the USB stick into the embroidery machine. According to its manual, my machine is compatible with an ATA PC card ... "available at computer shops and camera shops". I do not have such a card, so am not knowledgeable about them. And, finally, there is such a thing as a PC Design card ... I don't know anything about those either, but I think they are very expensive, already have designs on them, and can be bought from a Janome dealer.

Thanks for all the info. Now I have a better understanding.

You are welcome.

P.S.: I checked into the ATA PC card once, at a big electronics chain store, and ended up buying the wrong thing and having to return it. It was expensive, as I recall. I can't remember what I paid for the Customizer software, but I use it all the time for many things, so it has paid for itself over and over. Other Janome available software gets heavily into digitizing, in which I have no interest. I only want to be able to adjust design size and stitch density at the same time, to split designs for the MA hoop, and to "remove" portions of an existing design, none of which the Customizer can do. I can purchase non-Janome software fairly inexpensively that will do those things, but haven't yet. The whole point of this P.S. is, if it's an option for you, the Customizer software is the best way to transfer designs from your computer to your embroidery machine and vice versa, in my opinion.

If you look on ebay, and out in the search "Janome ATA" you should find some on there. I have a ATA adapter card that I bought from ebay, and I use a Compact Flash Memory card with it. I then have a 6 in 1 card adaptor that fits into my usb on my computer that I place the CF card into to transfer my designs from the computer to tha machine. Sounds complicated but really its not.
They are very cheap on Ebay.