Machines and formats
Each brand reads its own file types. Sizes are the largest hoop of a model: check your manual, as they vary by hoop and by year.
Brother Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE600 / SE625 / PE535 | .PES | .PEC | 100 × 100 |
| PE800 / SE1900 / NQ1700E | .PES | .PEC | 130 × 180 |
| Luminaire XP1 / Stellaire XJ1 | .PES | .PEC | 240 × 360 |
| PR680W (6 needles) | .PES | .PEC, .DST | 300 × 200 |
| PR1055X (10 needles) | .PES | .PEC, .DST | 360 × 200 |
Baby Lock Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solaris / Destiny | .PES | .PEC | 240 × 360 |
| Alliance / Enterprise (10 needles) | .PES | .PEC, .DST | 360 × 200 |
Janome Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory Craft 500E | .JEF | — | 200 × 280 |
| Memory Craft 550E | .JEF | — | 200 × 360 |
| Skyline S9 / MC9900 | .JEF | — | 170 × 200 |
| Horizon MC15000 | .JEF | — | 230 × 300 |
| MB-7 (7 needles) | .JEF | .DST | 240 × 200 |
Bernina Home and small business
These models read EXP. ART is created only in Bernina software.
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| B 500 / B 570 series | .EXP | — | 255 × 145 |
| B 590 / B 700 / B 790 Plus | .EXP | — | 400 × 210 |
Husqvarna Viking Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designer Epic 2 / Epic 3 | .VP3 | — | 360 × 350 |
| Designer Ruby / Topaz | .VP3 | — | 360 × 200 |
| Designer 1 (HUS only) | .HUS not available yet | — | 240 × 150 |
Pfaff Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Icon 2 | .VP3 | — | 360 × 350 |
| Creative Sensation / 4.5 | .VP3 | — | 360 × 200 |
| Creative 2170 / 7570 (PCS only) | .PCS not available yet | — | 160 × 150 |
Singer Home and small business
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legacy SE300 / SE340 | .XXX | — | 250 × 150 |
| Futura XL series | .XXX | — | 250 × 150 |
Tajima Commercial
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAI (8 needles) | .DST | .TBF | 360 × 500 |
| TMBP / TMCR series | .DST | .TBF | 450 × 360 |
Barudan Commercial
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEKY / BEVT series | .U01 | .DST | 450 × 360 |
Melco Commercial
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMT16X / Bravo | .EXP | .DST | 400 × 300 |
Happy Commercial
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| HCS / HCH series | .TAP | .DST, .EXP | 450 × 300 |
ZSK Commercial
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sprint series | .DST | — | 450 × 300 |
Ricoma, SWF Commercial
The common format for these machines is confirmed by secondary sources only. Check your manual.
| Machine | Best file | Also reads | Largest hoop, mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-needle machine (DST) | .DST | — | 400 × 300 |
All formats
| Format | Maker | Colours | We write it | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
.DST | Tajima | No | Yes | The industrial standard, read by almost every multi-needle machine. Holds no colours: the operator assigns threads. |
.PES | Brother / Baby Lock | Yes | Yes | The main home format for Brother and Baby Lock. |
.PEC | Brother | Yes | Yes | The stitch block inside PES; as a separate file for older models and cards. |
.JEF | Janome / Elna | Yes | Yes | The main Janome and Elna format. |
.EXP | Melco / Bernina | No | Yes | A Melco format also read by Bernina machines. Bernina keeps colours in a separate .inf. |
.VP3 | Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff | Yes | Yes | The current Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff format. |
.XXX | Singer | Yes | Yes | The format of Singer embroidery machines. |
.U01 | Barudan | No | Yes | Native Barudan format, stores needle changes. |
.TBF | Tajima | Yes | Yes | Newer Tajima format: like DST, with needle order and colours. |
.TAP | Happy | No | Yes | Native Happy format. These machines also read DST. |
.HUS | Husqvarna Viking | Yes | No | Older Viking (Designer 1 and similar). Not written yet. |
.VIP | Pfaff / Viking | Yes | No | Transitional Pfaff and Viking format. Not written yet. |
.PCS | Pfaff | Yes | No | Older Pfaff. Not written yet. |
.SEW | Janome | Yes | No | Older Janome. Not written yet. |
.DSB | Barudan | No | No | DST variant for Barudan. These machines read DST and U01. |
.DSZ | ZSK | No | No | DST variant for ZSK. These machines read DST. |
.Z00 | ZSK | No | No | Native ZSK format (Z00, Z01 and so on). Not written yet. |
.10O | Toyota | No | No | Toyota machines. Found in secondary sources only. |
.ART | Bernina | Yes | No | Closed Bernina software format. Cannot be written without permission: use EXP. |
.EMB | Wilcom | Yes | No | Closed Wilcom working file for editing. Does not go to a machine. |
.OFM | Melco | Yes | No | Closed Melco software file. Use EXP or DST. |