Good Machine for Monogramming.

wsc777 · September 26th, 2011, 10:46 PM

I have 2 Toyota 860's but I need another machine for the Christmas season and I'm simply not ready to sink 13000 in a new machine. Just need a good quality machine to do monograming. I only know the quality of the Toyota machines. My Question is, whats a good quality machine that I could buy to get me through the season that is easy to find and will do good quality work for a cheap price.

Looked at the brother machine, any opinions of them?

Gilligan · September 27th, 2011, 12:04 AM

I know some shops use the PR 650's for that exact purpose.

A local shop around here has about 15 of them just for doing the one off pieces. They have two 6 head machines other than those.

Gilligan · September 27th, 2011, 12:05 AM

Oh, and I have one... I like it... but it's all I have.

I have seen some older Tajimas (6 head) and some single head SWF units and I'm impressed with the features of my little brother.

widners · September 27th, 2011, 08:58 AM

The PR-650's are good machines. They are a lot slower than commercial machines though. If I were you I would look into a used SWF 1501C or why not a used Toyota (little more expensive). Price is in line with SWF and the Brother PR-650 used values. The 650's do have a lot of "creature comforts" and are easier to use but likely that isn't an issue since you already run some Toyotas. The SWF MA-6 is appealing and is likely cheaper than a PR-650 new. I have heard they are tougher to repair than the normal SWF machines though.

The 650's are a good option. One thing to think about is service. If you already have commercial machines and one tech can come service all of them at once it is likely cheaper than taking a Brother into a sewing shop to be serviced.

EDIT: I only touched on the 650's above but there are a lot of 600's and 620's on the market too. In my opinion resale value stays high on these machines because of the appeal to the home market so you have to weigh the price difference of this vs a used commercial machine. That is what we did and we upgraded to commercial for even money

wsc777 · September 27th, 2011, 06:41 PM

thanks for all the input, think we've decided to stick with the toyota, either bite the bullet and buy a newer one or look for another 860 so we don't have to worry about hoops, parts etc.

drdoct · September 27th, 2011, 09:04 PM

How about that 851 out in California that's on the for sale board? I'd never suggest you pay his price but I bet you could get it for $2500 or less. Should use the same Tajima 360 hoops as your other one and it's just one needle which is all you'd need for doing monograms. I have zero experience with those machines but it's just an idea.