Tajima software pulse DG17

Using Purchased Alphabets in Tajima DG17 Software

Quick note: These are digitized stitch alphabets, not TTF/system fonts, so they won’t install in Windows or appear in a standard text drop-down menu.

How to Use Alphabets with Tajima DG17

DG17 does not use standard TTF system fonts; it uses its own embroidery font objects. This means you can’t just “map” new letters with a keyboard shortcut as you would in other programs. Instead, you have two main approaches:

1. Manually Insert Designs as “Characters”

1. Open DG17 and create a new lettering object with the Lettering tool.
2. Instead of typing the whole word, type one placeholder letter (e.g., “A”).
3. Replace that letter by importing your custom design file (DST, EMB, etc.) in its place.
4. Repeat this process for each “character” or letter you want to use.
5. Save the entire set as a Custom Font inside DG17 (File → Save as Font).
6. Now, when you type on the keyboard, DG17 will use those shapes.

2. Hybrid Method for BX Fonts

Some sellers provide “BX fonts” for the Embrilliance software. These cannot be loaded directly into DG17, but you can use Embrilliance to export the individual letters as DST or EMB files. Then, you can import them one by one into DG17 and rebuild your own alphabet using the steps above. It’s more work, but it gives you full control over spacing, trims, and stitch properties.

Important Information About Stitch Files (DST, EXP, PES, etc.)

• These are stitch files, not object files.
• DG17 can import them, but you cannot create a “real font” out of them because stitch files do not carry scalable object data (like satin vs. fill vs. underlay information).
• You could manually assign each stitch file to a letter one by one to build a “fake font,” but the quality of resizing and editing will be very limited. This method works if you just want to type with fixed-size letters, but the stitches will not adjust nicely if you change the size.

Recommendations

• For a few custom letters: Use the manual insert method via the lettering tool.
• For a full working font (A-Z, 0-9): Invest the time to build a proper PXF font in the DG17 Fonts folder.
• Alternative: Use the free Embrilliance Express software with the BX version of the font to type out your text, then save/export it as a DST file for your machine.
• Quick Method: For names and short words, you can simply place the individual letter files on the screen in your software, manually adjust the spacing, and save the final layout as a DST file. Most people only stitch names or initials, so arranging letters manually is often quick and easy.

Handy Shortcuts (for Most Programs)

• Hold Ctrl while dragging to duplicate a letter quickly.
• Use Ctrl+click to multi-select letters; the arrow keys can then be used to nudge the spacing.
• Hold Shift while dragging to keep the movement straight.
• Hold Ctrl and click to select all the required letters in a folder, then drag and drop them into your embroidery software (this works in most cases).

When you are ready to stitch, open the files in your software and use the DST format. If your software preserves trims better in PES, you can edit in PES and then export to DST. Remember to import the files as stitches and turn off any auto-convert to outlines functions.

Quick Tips

• Use the provided sizes; avoid resizing more than 10–15% to keep any special effects (like a chain stitch) looking clean.
• The chain-stitch look is already digitized—no auto-conversion is needed.
• Always stitch a small sample on a similar fabric before embroidering your final item.