Convert It Mac: Embroidery Software for the Rest of Us
Finally! Someone actually developed a real program for the rest of us—embroiderers who use Macintosh!
In case you didn’t know, I am a long-time, die-hard Macintosh user. Yes, “I’m a Mac” has been my refrain for a long time—since March, 1984, to be specific.
Ten years later when I started embroidering and digitizing I naturally wanted software that ran on Mac. After all, embroidery is graphical in nature so it seemed like a natural. Unfortunately, there are surprisingly few embroidery programs for Mac. I was fortunate that there was an excellent program for digitizing embroidery designs and I’ve been using it ever since.
However, all the sewing machines needed a PC format. I could create the two industry standards, DST and EXP with my software, but none of the home formats without going into Windows. Until USB connections became popular, I was often forced to use a “real PC” to handle the required parallel port dongle. Later, was able to use Virtual PC and now Parallels with XP to run Windows programs. But even with that convenience, I just get annoyed…
Now, I have Brian Bailie’s program, Convert It Mac. Since all my designs reside on my Mac, it is just so convenient to launch Convert It Mac to browse them. Before, I used to have to launch my digitizing software and open designs individually—tedious, to say the least!
- Before I used to use one program to do the initial conversion and coloring and a second to convert them. I had to use yet another to create SHV files.
- So what all does this program do? Convert It Mac runs natively in Mac OS (I’m running Leopard). It’s sort of like have iTunes for embroidery. Here’s a list of some key features:
- Browse designs, images, text files and even zips! View as thumbnails or table view with extended information such as file date, thread usage, stitch count and more.
- Convert designs between different embroidery formats including most home embroidery machine types.
- Colorize designs in PES and VP3 with thread brands. Possibilties include ARC, Isacord, Hemingworth, RA, Madeira, Sulky and many more.
- Auto Baste will baste the rectangular outline of a design.
- Automatically create design notes, including a thread shopping list.
- Estimate the thread usage for a design.
- Convert a design to a TIFF file for print, re-digitizing or the web.
- Prints out both design thumbnails and actual size templates which can be used for design placement.
- Centers designs automatically.
- Drag and drop designs right to a floppy or USB stick for instant use in most machines.
So you might be wondering where to get this little gem. First, bug your dealer! If they don’t carry it, scoot on over to Mac Emb. and order online.
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