The EXP embroidery file format
An EXP file is the Melco Expanded embroidery format, and it is the file Bernina's embroidery machines read. It is the plainest of the common formats: no header and no colors, only the needle moves, trims and color stops.
By Levente, who builds BobbinBot. Published .
What is inside a EXP file
An EXP file has no header at all. It starts with the first move and ends with the last, so it is the smallest of the common formats, as the table below shows.
A stitch is two bytes: how far to move across and how far down, up to 12.7 mm. Jumps, trims and color changes are marked with a two-byte code first. Unlike DST, EXP has its own trim code, so a cut is a cut and not a run of jumps.
No colors are stored, only the stops. Any program that opens an EXP has to show the color blocks in shades of its own choosing.
One design, five formats
Our own 69.6 × 69.6 mm test design, 5,822 stitches, saved in five formats and read back. Every file has the same stitches; what differs is the size of the file and what it says about color.
| Format | File size | Thread colors in the file |
|---|---|---|
| EXP | 11,692 bytes | None, only the color stops |
| JEF | 11,842 bytes | Gray, Green, Sola Blue, Honey Dew |
| VP3 | 12,143 bytes | Gray, Emerald Green, Blue, Tangerine |
| DST | 18,017 bytes | None, only the color stops |
| PES | 36,850 bytes | Gray, Emerald Green, Blue, Tangerine |
Who uses EXP
Melco makes commercial embroidery machines, and EXP is its expanded format. Bernina's embroidery machines read EXP, and some read PES, JEF and DST too.
On our list, from the makers' or dealers' published specs:
- Bernina 700 E
- Bernina 500 E
How to open a EXP file
In a browser, drop the file into the free EXP viewer. It shows the stitches, the size, and each color stop in a stand-in shade, since the file has no colors.
On a computer, Inkscape with Ink/Stitch opens EXP with File › Open, and Wilcom's Truesizer reads it as the Melco format.
Open a EXP file in the free viewerHow to convert a EXP file
Converting EXP keeps every stitch and every trim. To PES, JEF or VP3, the converter has to add colors, and since EXP has none, they are stand-ins. To DST, nothing is lost, but trims become jumps.
Convert EXP to another format, freeCommon problems with EXP files
There are no colors
That is the format, not a fault. Keep a list of the threads in order next to the file.
The design does not fit the hoop
An EXP has no header with its size, so open it in the viewer to read the width and height, then compare them with the hoops your machine takes.
A file from a shop will not open
Make sure it is really EXP and not a zip or an ART file. ART is the design format of Bernina's embroidery software, which our free tools do not read. Bernina's software can save the design again in a machine format.
Questions
What does EXP stand for in embroidery?
Expanded. pyembroidery lists it as the Melco Expanded embroidery format, and Wilcom lists EXP as Melco's.
Does an EXP file store colors?
No. It stores the color stops and nothing about which threads to use.
Can I turn a picture into an EXP for my Bernina?
Yes. BobbinBot makes an EXP from a picture, along with the other formats, and shows the stitches before you pay.
Make a EXP file from a picture
BobbinBot turns a logo, a drawing or a name into PES, DST, JEF, EXP, VP3 and four more formats in one download. You see the stitches and a green, yellow or red verdict before you pay, and the first design is free. Or do it yourself in free software, step by step.