I began my journey as a digitizer in 1986. After working for and helping with the start up of several embroidery companies, I decided to go into business in 1998 as Gray Wolf Graphics, specializing in digitizing. In my years as Production Manager and General Manager, I found many digitizers didn’t understand the needs of the embroidery companies from a production standpoint. It’s from this perspective that I design and digitize each logo, with the understanding of the needs of the embroidery operator.
What Makes Gray Wolf Unique
25 years of digitizing experience brings with it much more than just technical ability. Innovation and style are gained through years of hands on experience. When I first began designing logos digitizing was performed on a very large, live digitizing board, placing each individual needle penetration in it’s exact spot and then literally punching the design into 8-channel paper or Mylar tape. Editing was non-existent. Make a mistake and you had to start from scratch.
As computers, digitizing systems and software developed and gained power and speed, so did the digitizing experience. When on-screen digitizing came into being art requirements were drastically changed. No longer did we have to convert the existing art into a 6/1 scale drawing. Now we can transfer the art directly to the computer screen, increasing speed, productivity and attention to detail.
Not only does digitizing experience make a difference in the quality of a logo but so also does production experience. As Production Manager with a number of contract embroidery houses, I’ve experienced daily the hands on tasks required to make a top notch production facility run at it’s best. Understanding how embroidery machines work on a vast variety of fabrics and garments increases the expertise required to digitize for all types of applications from knit to woven fabrics. Caps, shirts, jackets, sweaters, towels, tote bags, golf bags, leather goods, upholstery, flags all have differing requirements and offer many challenges to the digitizer.
Many digitizers have extensive training in the operation of CAD systems, but very few have had to face the daily grind of making it work on an embroidery machine to satisfy their customers. I’ve walked that line many times and bring that experience with me when I design a logo.
