Hi, all. Digitizing is done with embroidery software. It takes the skill of someone who can draw as well as having experience in how machine embroidery "stitches out". There are many different types of stitches and density of stitches -- it is all determined when the digitizer (the person) "punches a tape" that the machine uses to embroider the design. The quality of the final product depends on the skill and artistry of the digitizer. Here is an article from Stitches Magazine online. We use a digitizer in Denver who is excellent in being able to reproduce realistic images (like my nature watercolors) with high quality yet economy of stitches, which keeps the time and cost down.
Digitizing Demands alice