What is in a TAP file?
A TAP file is a list of needle movements for Happy (Happy Japan) machines: each stitch, each jump between shapes, each cut and each stop for a new colour. Inside, it's the same stitch data as a Tajima DST, without DST's header, so the two files sew the same design.
TAP or DST for your Happy machine?
Current Happy machines, such as the HCH Journey and the HCS3 Voyager, also read DST from a USB stick, so DST is the safe choice for most Happy owners. TAP is Happy's own format: pick it if your machine or your dealer asks for it.
You don't have to choose. Pick Happy as your machine and the download holds both, the .dst and the .tap, for one price.
Getting the colours right with a TAP
Like a DST, a TAP has nowhere to keep a colour, so the colours travel on paper. With each design, Embify gives you a colour sheet, and a production sheet with the thread order, the stitch count, the run time and the finished size. Set the needles to match before you press start.
Make a TAP from your artwork
Upload your logo or artwork and Embify digitizes it into a TAP file, with a true sew-out preview before you pay. Start from the page for the file you have:
- PNG to TAP: a logo with a see-through background.
- JPG to TAP: a logo that came by email, a scan or a screenshot.
- SVG to TAP: the vector file from your designer, the cleanest start.
- Text to embroidery: names, initials and lettering, typed in.
One £5 download gives you every format of the design, the DST and the TAP included. Digitizing and the sew-out preview are free, with no card.
TAP file FAQs
What is a TAP file?
TAP is the embroidery file format of Happy (Happy Japan) machines. It stores the stitches, jumps, cuts and colour stops of a design: the same stitch data as a DST, without the DST's header.
Do I need TAP or DST for my Happy machine?
Most current Happy machines read DST, so start with that. TAP is Happy's own format: use it if your machine or your dealer asks for it. Both files hold the same stitches, and you can download both at once.
Does a TAP file include colours?
No. Like DST, TAP stores where the machine stops for the next colour, not which colour it is. You set the threads on the machine; Embify's colour sheet and production sheet list them in sewing order.
Is making a TAP file free?
Digitizing your design and seeing the sew-out is free, with no card. Downloading the finished TAP is £5 as a one-off, and that one download includes every other format too. Monthly plans start at £29 for 20 files.