[widners]

Originally Posted by powerstitch

I think Fufus controls the price depending on the country they are selling to. Did you manage to try it?

No I didn't. Here in the U.S. it is sold under the name Floriani. I have only found one wholesale vendor that sells under the name FuFu's and the cost is the same as Floriani.

I couldn't get Floriani to discount on any volume except 12 cones of the exact same color and their minimum order is $100 which I find is not acceptable for me to just try their thread.

The other place that sells it here has offered me free shipping to give the thread a try. I still might take them up on it but was hoping to find a better source. As it stands I can buy the following:

Madeira - $7.30
Robison-Anton - $6.30
Marathon - $3.75 in qty 12 mix of colors
FuFu's - $6.99 - higher shipping
Floriani - $6.99
Isacord - $6.99 - higher shipping

Maybe others but the above is what I know about.

[Eric]

Poly is much stronger than rayon no matter what brand, just the nature of the material. As a result, poly can be run considerably faster, and in a production environment speed = time and time = money. Also, Poly has much better colorfastness, and has come a long way in terms of luster/shine.

20 (even 10) years ago it was mainly rayon, and no poly. Now its the exact opposite. Funny how the industry changed. Nearly everything we do now is poly, we don't even offer rayon unless a customer asks. Although, when you have a very colorful intricate design, Rayon still looks incredible. I will give it that.

[Flint54]

We use Madeira and Robison Anton. Both in poly and no rayon. Our clients have no need for rayon as it is inferior to poly due to fading, inability to withstand numerous washings, use of bleach etc. Poly is the best thread that we can offer our customer base. For us the Madeira is a much smoother running thread, being a 3 ply vs a 2 ply additionally Madeira cones are tapered and the RA cones are straight walled that has caused some problems with the thread sticking at the bottom of the cone and not flowing properly.

[widners]

Originally Posted by Flint54

Madeira cones are tapered and the RA cones are straight walled that has caused some problems with the thread sticking at the bottom of the cone and not flowing properly.

Speaking of this, Madeira has been giving us a lot of problems hanging up under the base of the cone. Enough times that it isn't just a coincidence.

[Flint54]

Madeira changed the thread retaining design of the cones to a collapsible base somewhat like the RA cones. You have to ensure that this lip is collapsed when on the machine or the thread will hang on one of the retaining lips. If you do this you should not have any further problems. We have not had any further problems since discovering this. You can also cut a small section of mesh netting @ 2-3" long and put over the thread and base, this will also help with any brand of thread.

[widners]

Originally Posted by Flint54

Madeira changed the thread retaining design of the cones to a collapsible base somewhat like the RA cones. You have to ensure that this lip is collapsed when on the machine or the thread will hang on one of the retaining lips. If you do this you should not have any further problems. We have not had any further problems since discovering this. You can also cut a small section of mesh netting @ 2-3" long and put over the thread and base, this will also help with any brand of thread.

Thanks, actually one of the cones I am running now doesn't have the thread retaining lip at the bottom and it gets hung up. Where my madeira cones are getting hung is all the way underneath the cone, when I notice the problem I catch bobbin coming through the top, I stop the machine and look back and the thread is UNDER the cone! This can happen right in the middle of using that color. Not sure how it gets pulled under but I know a thread net would help. It isn't so often that I need to throw it away or anything but definitely more often than I should be worrying about something like that. Probably a handful of times a week.

[Flint54]

I completely understand what you are going through, we had the same problem a few years back and since then as a standard practice we use a piece of the netting on all of our thread cones. Since doing this we have never had a similar problem. I'm sure that if you use the smaller spools this would be a great idea as they allow the thread to slump down past the base.

[widners]

We are mainly using the cones and this problem is happening to us mainly on those big cones. We don't run a lot of the small spools and when we do it is usually just a couple of pieces. I guess I will have to start using the thread nets too. I was hoping not to have to. I don't seem to have this problem on RA or Marathon thread or at least not near as often. Funny that something like this is what I need to consider when deciding on a thread brand. Not something I would normally think of....

[Tyrko]

I use all RA ... I use as little Madeira as humanly possible. I got into a tiff with them many years ago. Due to the fact that they charge you a 2% order fee on all orders. Which to me is asinine, if you want an extra 2%, just raise your prices. I don't believe in places that charge fees "because we can"

[Eric]

I have the same issue with Madeira, they've been hanging out with Bank of America too long.

I use mostly R.A. as well. The only thing that annoys me about the RA spools is that if you drop one, the bottom "lip" is going to break, and then its going to give you a million issues running, because the thread is going to constantly get caught on the broken edge.

I only use Madeira if absolutely necessary, (e.g. they are the only ones with a Pantone match) when I said something about it to one of the rep's they were like "oh, well you have volume now, we can do something" Yeah.... Right .... The way I look at it is, if you weren't willing to give me the time of day when I was small, and help me grow. Then you don't deserve my business now that I'm established.