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# Embroidery at Printoteca: sizes, digitization fee, and which designs work

Embroidery works on select garments in our catalog, with a one-time digitization fee per design, a maximum embroidered area of 10×10 cm, and simple, bold artwork only — gradients and fine detail can't be embroidered.

## Digitization fee

Every unique design needs to be "digitized" — converted into stitch instructions — before it can be embroidered. This is a one-time fee of 30 lei + VAT (~€6) per unique design.

- Charged **once per design**, not per garment. If you put the same design on 20 shirts, you pay the digitization fee once.
- A different design (or a meaningfully modified version of one) is digitized — and charged — separately.
- The exact fee is confirmed in your quote at checkout.

## Size limit

Maximum embroidery size is **10×10 cm**. If your design is larger, it needs to be resized or simplified to fit — the configurator will show you the available embroidery area for your chosen product.

## Which designs work

Embroidery is a physical stitching process, not a print, so not every design can be reproduced accurately:

- **Minimum line thickness is about 1 mm.** Thinner lines than that can't be stitched cleanly.
- **Simple, bold shapes work best** — solid fills, clear outlines, limited detail.
- **Gradients and very fine detail are rejected.** A metallic gradient or a design with lots of small detail cannot be embroidered as-is; we'll ask you to simplify it or suggest an alternative technique (e.g. DTG or DTF).

If you're not sure whether your design qualifies, send it to us and we'll check before you order.

## Thread colors

We embroider with a palette of **16 thread colors**. Ask us in chat if you'd like to see the palette before choosing your design's colors.

## Placement

Not every garment model supports every embroidery position — some models only offer left or right chest, not center chest. The positions available for your specific product are shown in the configurator/your quote.

Slight fabric puckering around dense embroidery on thin fabrics is a normal effect of the stitching process, not a defect.

## What we don't offer

No glow-in-the-dark or other special-effect threads — only the standard 16-color palette.

## Turnaround time

Embroidery production typically takes **5–10 working days**, longer than our standard 2–5 day production window for printed garments, due to the extra digitization and stitching steps.

## Still need help?

Chat with us on printoteca.ro or write to comenzi@printoteca.ro — we're happy to help.

## Related articles
- Bulk & wholesale orders: minimums, pricing tiers, and how to get a B2B quote
- Which format should I upload the images?
- How do I have to prepare the image for the product configurator?