Compare
Every way to get every format
Once the pattern is drafted, someone still has to turn it into files sewists can print, take to a copyshop and project. Here's how the options stack up, fairly.
| Sewpress | By hand | A freelancer | Poster printing a big PDF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time per release | About a minute | Hours per format, every release | Days, depending on their queue | Minutes, for one format |
| Cost per release | Free monthly, then $8.57–15 | Your time | About $20–80 per pattern | Free |
| Tiled A4 and US Letter | Both | If you make both | Usually | One, with no tile IDs |
| A0 and 36 × 48 in | Both | If you make both | Usually | No |
| Projector file | Yes, 4 pt lines, light and dark | If you make it | Sometimes | No |
| Size layers kept | In every file | Depends on how you export | Depends | Often lost |
| Scale checked | Every file, two engines | If you remember | Sometimes | No |
| Rebuild after a fix | Free for 30 days | Redo by hand | Another fee | Redo |
When by hand makes sense
One pattern, one format, and you already know your software's tiling inside out.
When a freelancer makes sense
You want someone to also grade, nest or draft. Formatting is a small part of what they do.
When Sewpress makes sense
The pattern is done and you want every format, layered and measured, for every release, without redoing the work.