Guide
DST vs PES, and every other embroidery format
Each machine brand reads its own stitch file, and DST is the commercial standard. They hold the same stitches; the difference is what else they store, mainly the thread colours.
Updated
The formats
| Format | Made by | Read by | Stores colours |
|---|---|---|---|
| PES | Brother | Brother, Baby Lock, many newer Singer | Yes, from Brother's chart |
| JEF | Janome | Janome, Elna | Yes, from Janome's chart, plus the hoop |
| VP3 | Husqvarna Viking | Husqvarna Viking, Pfaff | Yes, exact colour and thread number |
| EXP | Melco | Bernina, Melco | No |
| XXX | Singer | Singer | Yes |
| DST | Tajima | Almost every commercial machine, many home machines | No |
DST or PES?
If you have a Brother or Baby Lock machine, use PES: it keeps the colours, so the screen shows the threads to use. Use DST for commercial multi-needle machines, or to send a design to a shop. DST keeps only the colour changes, so the machine shows its own default colours and you thread from the thread sheet.
Converting between them doesn't change the stitches, so a well-made design sews the same in either.
Format pages
Questions
Can I convert DST to PES?
Yes, any embroidery editor can convert between them, but the colours won't come across because DST doesn't have them. InstaEmbroid gives you every format at once, colours included where the format allows.
Which format is best?
Your machine's own format. It keeps the colours and, for JEF, the hoop.