Direct to Embroidery (DTE)
Specialist digitizing for Brother Direct to Embroidery (DTE), combining the texture and dimension of embroidery with high-resolution digital printing to achieve colours, gradients and fine details beyond the possibilities of conventional embroidery alone.
Where Embroidery Meets Digital Printing
Direct to Embroidery (DTE) combines traditional embroidery with Brother's GTX Series direct-to-garment printing technology. A design is first embroidered, typically using white thread, before colour and detail are digitally printed directly onto the embroidered surface with up to 1200 DPI resolution.
The result retains the physical texture and raised appearance that makes embroidery distinctive, while introducing the creative freedom of digital printing. Gradients, subtle colour transitions, small details and complex colour combinations can be incorporated without relying entirely on individual coloured embroidery threads.
Digitizing Specifically for Direct to Embroidery
DTE requires a different way of thinking about embroidery digitizing. Rather than recreating every colour and detail using conventional stitches, the embroidery can provide the structure, texture and foundation of the design, while the printed layer introduces colour, shading and finer visual detail.
This opens up opportunities to simplify areas that would otherwise require numerous thread colours or complex stitch combinations, while also creating effects that aren't practical with embroidery alone. I approach each DTE project by considering which elements are best created in stitch and which can be achieved through the printed layer, with the aim of making the two processes work together as one finished design.
Brother developed DTE to extend what's possible with traditional embroidery, including gradient colours, small characters and complex colour combinations. The system uses a high-precision camera to recognise the position and angle of the embroidery on the printer platen, allowing the digital artwork to be accurately positioned over the stitched design.
For me, DTE is particularly exciting because it introduces another set of creative tools into embroidery. Designs no longer have to be approached as purely stitched artwork. Embroidery can be used for dimension and texture while digital printing handles elements such as shading, gradients and fine detail, creating opportunities for designs that would previously have been difficult or impossible to reproduce effectively in embroidery.
