Which file does a Bernina embroidery machine read?

EXP, which Motifab writes for Bernina machines by default.

Does EXP keep my thread colours?

No: EXP holds the stitches and colour changes, not the threads. Motifab’s worksheet lists the colours in stitch order.

What software works with the Bernina B 770 QE PRO?

Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 770 QE PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.

What software works with the Bernina B 735 PRO?

Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 735 PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.

What software works with the Bernina B 700 PRO?

Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 700 PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.

Embroidery software for Bernina

Embroidery digitizing software for Bernina machines.

Motifab is embroidery digitizing software that writes the EXP files Bernina machines read, for 24 of the 33 models on this page, the B 770 QE PRO, B 735 PRO and B 700 PRO among them.

Motifab writes the EXP your Bernina reads, sized for its hoops and the fields Bernina publishes, and checks the design against the artwork before it reads the file back and saves it, on a Mac or a Windows PC.

Try Motifab free for 15 days All about EXP

No card, nothing charged when it ends · then €149 a year

Founding price: €99 your first year, then €149 a year for as long as you stay subscribed. Ends 31 January 2027.

One needle, every colour in order: logos for your Bernina.

A café wants its logo on six aprons and sends it as a PNG. Your Bernina embroiders one colour at a time: at every change it stops, and you rethread.

Motifab turns the PNG into the EXP your Bernina reads, and its worksheet lists the threads in the order the machine asks for them. That serves the 5, 7, 8 and 9 Series, the artista 630 and the Deco 330; the older artista and aurora models read ART, which Motifab doesn’t write.

Add the design to an approval sheet, and the café sees the real stitches on the apron’s colour, under your shop’s name and logo, before the first stitch. Make that order in the 15 free days, export included and no card; then €149 a year.

Try Motifab free for 15 days

Bernina machines, 1998–2026

Find your model: the year it came out, its heads, needles and field, and the files it reads.

Model	Years	Type	Heads × needles	Largest field	Files it reads	Motifab writes
B 770 QE PRO¹	2025– current	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 735 PRO¹	2025– current	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 700 PRO¹	2025– current	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 990²	2024– current	Home	–	410 × 305 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 790 PRO³	2023– current	Home	–	400 × 210 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 540⁴	by 2023	Home	–	400 × 150 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 770 QE PLUS⁵	by 2022	Home	–	400 × 210 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 735⁵	by 2022	Home	–	400 × 210 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 880 PLUS⁴	2017	Home	–	400 × 260 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCS	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 790 PLUS⁵	2017	Home	–	400 × 210 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 590⁶	2017	Home	–	400 × 150 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 570 QE⁶	2017	Home	–	400 × 150 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 535⁶	2017	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 500⁶	2017	Home	–	400 × 150 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 700³	2016	Home	–	400 × 210 mm	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXXPCSSEW	EXPDSTPESPECJEFXXX
B 790⁷	2015	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 770 QE⁷	2015	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
E 16⁸	2014	Single-head	1×16	440 × 350 mm	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
B 880⁹	2013	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 780¹⁰	2012	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 750 QE¹⁰	2012	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
artista 630¹¹	by 2012	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
aurora 450¹¹	by 2012	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
B 580¹²	2011	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
B 830¹¹	2008	Home	–	400 × 260 mm	EXP	EXP
artista 730¹¹	2006	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
Deco 330¹³	by 2005	Home	–	–	EXP	EXP
artista 185¹³	by 2005	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
artista 165¹³	by 2005	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
aurora 430¹³	by 2005	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
aurora 440 QE¹⁴	2004	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
artista 200¹⁴	2002	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART
artista 180¹⁴	1998	Home	–	–	ART	None: Motifab doesn’t write ART

What Motifab writes for each Bernina series

Bernina 7 Series (B 770 QE PRO, B 735 PRO, B 700 PRO, B 790 PRO, B 770 QE PLUS, B 735 …): EXP, written by Motifab.
Bernina B 990: EXP, DST, PES, PEC, JEF and XXX, written by Motifab.
Bernina 5 Series (B 540, B 590, B 570 QE, B 535, B 500, B 580): EXP, written by Motifab.
Bernina 8 Series (B 880 PLUS, B 880, B 830): EXP, written by Motifab.
Bernina E 16: ART only, which Motifab doesn’t write.
Bernina artista 630: EXP, written by Motifab.
Bernina artista series (artista 730, artista 185, artista 165, artista 200, artista 180): ART only, which Motifab doesn’t write.
Bernina aurora series (aurora 450, aurora 430, aurora 440 QE): ART only, which Motifab doesn’t write.
Bernina Deco 330: EXP, written by Motifab.

Sources 14

Names, years and figures as the maker’s own pages, its press releases, a dated trade article or a dealer give them. A year with “by” is when a dated source shows the model on sale; a dash means no source gives one.

The Bernina hoops in Motifab

Hoop	Embroidery field
Small hoop 5 × 7.2 cm	50 × 72 mm
Medium hoop 10 × 13 cm	100 × 130 mm
Large oval hoop 14.5 × 25.5 cm	145 × 255 mm

Set Motifab up for your Bernina

Choose Bernina
Click the machine chip in the top bar and pick Bernina. From then on Motifab writes EXP, counts 1 needle and offers the hoops above.
Let Motifab pick the hoop
With no hoop chosen, Motifab picks the smallest that takes the design, or offers a 90° turn. A design larger than every hoop is split into hoopings, each its own file.
Export EXP
Motifab writes the file, reads it back and compares every needle point with the screen. A file that doesn’t match is never saved.

The optional Maxi hoop reaches 400 × 210 mm; add it as a custom hoop if you have one.

Questions

Motifab beside Chroma, Hatch and Wilcom

What software works with Bernina embroidery machines?: Motifab is embroidery digitizing software that writes the EXP files Bernina machines read, for 24 of the 33 models on this page, the B 770 QE PRO, B 735 PRO and B 700 PRO among them. It runs on a Mac or a Windows PC, sizes each design for the 3 hoops it knows for Bernina and reads every file back before it saves it.
Which file does a Bernina embroidery machine read?: EXP, which Motifab writes for Bernina machines by default.
Does EXP keep my thread colours?: No: EXP holds the stitches and colour changes, not the threads. Motifab’s worksheet lists the colours in stitch order.
What software works with the Bernina B 770 QE PRO?: Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 770 QE PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.
What software works with the Bernina B 735 PRO?: Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 735 PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.
What software works with the Bernina B 700 PRO?: Motifab, embroidery digitizing software for Mac and Windows. The B 700 PRO (2025) reads EXP; Motifab writes EXP for it, sizes each design for the Bernina hoops and reads every file back before it saves it.

Other machines

Every machine Motifab writes for

Where the machine figures come from 1

Specifications: dev-api-sfcc.bernina.com

The model, needles, field and hoops as each maker or its dealer publishes them, collected in Motifab’s machine profiles. Machine names only say which machines Motifab writes for.

The next logo for your Bernina, digitized in your own shop.

Motifab writes EXP sized for your Bernina’s hoops and reads it back before it is saved. 15 days free with export on and no card: embroider real orders on it and be paid before you pay anything.

Try Motifab free for 15 days See pricing