Images Magazine Digital Edition August 2018

www.images-magazine.com AUGUST 2018 images 81 SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Telling it like it is: Industry Software Four decorators tell Images about the industry software they‘ve chosen and how they are working out for them Nikki Jackson, creative director Tell us a bit about your business Banana Moon is a family-run, personalisation business established in 1993, so this year sees us celebrating our 25th anniversary. We specialise in embroidery and have a team of digitisers that have been trained in- house using Wilcom software. When did you get Wilcom? Our first version of the software was purchased in 1993, when we started our business, and at the time was around £15,000 as it was sold complete with hardware. We are currently using Version 4.1. What do you think are its main advantages? I think Wilcom is really user-friendly and easy to learn, but with masses of potential for both simple and complex designs. The editing is so simple a design can be completely changed in just a few clicks of a mouse. Also, the interaction with CorelDraw is great for multi-decoration designs. Is there anything you‘d like to see in an upgrade or don‘t particularly like about it? It would be good to see different end styles for input C, similar to outline styles in CorelDraw, so bullet ends, chisel ends and tapered ends for example. What‘s it like to use? Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of it? It’s really simple to use and I think my best advice would be to just spend time reading the online tutorial guides and watching the training videos to really understand the tools and then give it a go. Practice makes perfect. Also, understand that not all fabrics are equal – the software is only part of the solution. What sort of work do you use it for? We digitise designs for many sectors – business, schools, military, as well as for individuals looking for a gift. Banana Moon: Wilcom EmbroideryStudio e4.1 Banana Moon has used Wilcom software since 1993, when the company was founded Which machines does the software run on? We currently use Tajima machines for running our designs. What’s your advice to others thinking of investing in a new software system? From my experience Wilcom is the best of the digitising solutions on the market. It is a hugely complex piece of software at the core but the user need not be worried, the software is simple to learn and beyond that the world is your oyster. www.bananamoon.co.uk The interaction with CorelDraw is great for multi- decoration designs and Wilcom is really user-friendly