Every Bernina owner has lived the same nightmare: you spend an hour digitizing the perfect design, save it as EXP, pop the USB in the machine, and… half the colors are wrong, the text is shifted, and the satin stitches look drunk. The culprit is almost always a sloppy JPG-to-EXP workflow. The good news? Once you nail a handful of pro habits, every file you send to your Bernina (or Bernette) stitches out exactly like the preview. No more swearing at the hoop. Here are the exact tips real digitizers and designers swear by when they convert JPG to EXP for embroidery.

Start with a JPG That Doesn’t Suck

Garbage in, garbage out. Before you even think about stitches, fix the source:

• Minimum 1000 pixels on the longest side (1500+ if the design is detailed).
• 300 DPI at the final embroidered size.
• High contrast, clean edges, no JPEG compression artifacts.
• Remove backgrounds completely (remove.bg takes 3 seconds).

A five-minute cleanup in Photopea or Affinity Photo saves you an hour of fighting stair-step edges later.

Vectorize Early, Thank Yourself Later

The single biggest upgrade you can make is turning that JPG into an SVG before digitizing. Inkscape (free), Illustrator, or VectorMagic will trace the image into perfect paths. Vectors give you razor-sharp edges at any size, and Bernina software loves them. You’ll cut your node-editing time in half and end up with satin columns that actually look smooth.

Choose Software That Actually Speaks Bernina Fluently

Not all digitizing programs treat EXP equally. These do:

• Bernina Embroidery Software 9 (native, obviously)
• Wilcom Hatch or EmbroideryStudio (best third-party EXP export)
• Embrilliance StitchArtist (surprisingly accurate and affordable)
• Bernette Toolbox (cheap and shockingly good)

Skip random online converters and freeware that only “kinda” support EXP. They mangle color tables and underlay data.

Reduce Colors Ruthlessly

Bernina machines read Isacord and Mettler charts like poetry. Give them a 47-color JPG and they choke. Pros posterize to 8–12 colors max before digitizing. Use the actual Bernina thread library in your software and click the closest match. Your machine will thank you by displaying the correct thread name on-screen instead of “Color 23.”

Auto-Digitize Smart, Not Lazy

Drop the cleaned SVG or PNG into your software and let auto-digitizing do 70% of the work. Then immediately zoom to 400% and fix the usual suspects:

• Running stitches on anything wider than 1 mm → switch to satin.
• Overly dense fills (drop to 0.42–0.48 mm).
• Missing underlay (add edge-run + center-run on every object).
• Pull compensation set to 0.3–0.5 mm (Berninas stretch like crazy without it).

Pathing Is Everything

Watch the stitch simulator like it’s Netflix. If the needle is jumping more than a kid on Red Bull, reorder objects so same-color sections connect—even if they’re visually separate. Combine shapes, kill unnecessary trims, and lock stitches where needed. A clean path can shave 30–40% off stitch time.

Use the Right EXP Version

When saving, pick the highest version your machine supports (v10 or v11 on most current Artistas and Chicago models). Newer versions store more precise stitch points and support larger designs without splitting. Old v4 files from 2010 will still work, but they force compromises.

Test on Real Fabric, Not Just the Screen

Bernina screens lie sometimes. Stitch every new EXP on scrap fabric that matches the final project (pique, fleece, towel—whatever). Check registration, bobbin tension, and whether metallic thread is behaving. One test stitch now saves ten ruined gifts later.

Bonus Pro Hacks

• Build a custom EXP template with your go-to density, underlay, and pull-comp settings. Every new file starts perfect.
• For photos or kids’ art: reduce to 4–6 colors first, then use appliqué or artistic fills (contour, spiral) for a painterly look that hides low-res sins.
• Batch convert: Clean ten JPGs, save as SVGs, drop the folder into Hatch’s batch processor with one rule set, walk away.

Common Mistakes That Make Pros Cry

• Digitizing straight from a 400-pixel Instagram download.
• Forgetting to remap colors to actual Bernina threads.
• Skipping underlay on knits (hello, sinking letters).
• Saving as generic DST “because it’s universal” (it butchers Bernina-specific data).

Final Stitch

Converting a JPG to a flawless EXP isn’t rocket science; it’s just disciplined habits. Clean the image, vectorize when possible, choose software that respects Bernina, refine like you mean it, and always test. Do those five things and your machine will reward you with stitches so clean you’ll want to frame the test swatch. So grab your next JPG, run it through this checklist, and convert JPG to EXP for embroidery the way the pros do. Your Bernina is ready when you are.