DST File

DST stands for Data Stitch Tajima. Tajima is the Japanese embroidery machine manufacturer that originated the format in the 1980s, and DST has since become the lingua franca of commercial embroidery. If a shop says they need a stitch file, they almost always mean DST.

DST is a compact, lightweight format that stores stitch coordinates, color change markers, jump stitches, and trim commands. It does not store color information itself, only the order in which colors change. Operators reference a color chart (PMS values or thread brand codes) supplied separately to load the correct thread cones on the machine.

The format is read by Tajima, Barudan, SWF, Toyota, ZSK, Happy, Ricoma, Melco, and essentially every commercial multi-head machine on the market. This portability is why DST is the default delivery format from most digitizing services. A customer who owns the DST file for their logo can take that file to any shop in the country and have it stitched.

DST is not the easiest format to edit. The native working files for digitizing software (EMB for Wilcom, ART for Bernina, BX for Embird) preserve object information that lets a digitizer adjust shapes, densities, and underlays. DST is a flattened export, similar to a PDF compared to an InDesign file. A shop receiving only a DST can usually rescale slightly and reassign colors, but rebuilding shapes typically requires re-digitizing from the original artwork.