PES vs DST vs JEF vs EXP: which embroidery format do you need?

PES is the native format of Brother and Baby Lock home machines, and it is also read by many Bernette and Deco models. A PES file has two parts: a PES section used by Brother's PE-Design software, and an embedded PEC block. The PEC block is what the machine actually sews from. It holds the stitches, the colour list as indexes into Brother's thread palette, and a small monochrome thumbnail that the machine shows on screen.

Because colours are indexes into a fixed palette, the colour on the machine screen is the closest Brother thread, not an exact match to your artwork. That's fine: it's a guide for which spool to load.

PES has gone through many versions as PE-Design added features. Newer versions mainly add data for the software, while the PEC block stays compatible, which is why version 1 files still load on current machines. StitchMyPic writes PES version 1 with the PEC block for the widest compatibility. More on our PES format page and the Brother machine guide.

DST comes from Tajima and has become the common language of commercial embroidery. Ricoma, Happy, Barudan, SWF, ZSK and most multi-needle machines read it, and nearly every embroidery program can open it. A DST file starts with a 512-byte text header (design label, stitch count, colour-change count and the design's extents) followed by 3 bytes per stitch.

Two details explain most DST surprises:

• No thread colours. DST records only that a colour change happens, not which colour. A home machine will show a default colour for each block, and a commercial machine expects you to assign needles. Keep the colour list next to the machine.
• No dedicated trim command. Trims are written as a short sequence of jumps, and the machine is set to cut when it sees them. If a machine's trim setting doesn't match, you may get long jump threads instead of cuts.

A single DST move can't exceed 12.1 mm in either direction, so longer movements are split into several jumps automatically. None of this affects stitch quality: the needle positions are as precise as in any other format. See the DST format page or the Tajima guide.

JEF is Janome's home format, also used by Elna and by Kenmore embroidery machines built by Janome. Like PES, it stores thread colours as indexes into the manufacturer's palette, so the machine shows sensible colours on screen. Its header also records a hoop code, which Janome machines and software use to suggest the hoop the design needs.

Each JEF move is stored as a signed byte, so a single stitch or jump is limited to 12.7 mm and longer moves are split. As with every format here, the design size is not limited by the file but by the hoop. Janome machines also read DST, but you lose the colour information, so JEF is the better choice when your machine supports it. See the JEF format page and the Janome guide.

EXP is the Melco "expanded" format. It is about as simple as a stitch file gets: no header, just pairs of signed bytes for each move, with escape codes marking jumps and colour changes. Like DST it holds no thread colours.

Bernina home machines read EXP, which is why it shows up so often in home embroidery. Bernina's own software usually saves an EXP together with companion files that carry colour information and a preview image; the machine sews from the EXP alone, so a standalone EXP works, it just won't show your real thread colours. Melco commercial machines read it natively as well. See the EXP format page, the Bernina guide and the Melco guide.

All four store the same stitches in 0.1 mm units, so a design converted correctly between them sews the same way. The differences are in what travels with the stitches: PES and JEF carry thread colours from the manufacturer's palette, DST and EXP don't, and each format handles trims and hoop information differently.

The colour column matters most in practice: with DST and EXP the machine only knows that a colour change happens, so keep the colour list that came with the design next to the machine.

Use your machine brand's native format: PES for Brother and Baby Lock, JEF for Janome, EXP for Bernina and DST for commercial machines. When you are unsure, DST is read almost everywhere, but you lose the thread colours on screen.

Start with your machine's manual or the USB screen: it lists the extensions it reads. Then:

1. Use the brand's native format when there is one (PES for Brother, JEF for Janome, EXP for Bernina), because you keep the on-screen colours.
2. Use DST for commercial machines and whenever you're unsure; nearly everything reads it.
3. Avoid converting stitch files back and forth. Each conversion can drop colour data, and trims that were real commands in one format can become plain jumps in another.
4. Don't resize a stitch file by more than 10–20%. Re-export at the new size from the source instead.

StitchMyPic sidesteps the conversion problem: one download gives you a ZIP with PES, DST, JEF and EXP, all exported from the same design rather than converted from each other. If you get a new machine later, the right file is already there. Need it bigger or smaller within 7 days? Re-export for free and the stitches are recalculated for the new size. Try PNG to PES, PNG to JEF or PNG to EXP.