New with a few questions

adoptionmomma · March 30th, 2007, 10:43 PM

Hi,
I am semi new to embroidery and very new to digitizing. I am looking to start a home based business with a friend. We are currently going to be making personalized cheerleading garments and accessories. We hope that after learning a machine and the software we can expand to digitizing and make products for the cheer gyms and recreation teams in our area. Here are my questions.

We are looking to buy a used machine. We have found a person selling a used SWF 1502 two head machine, for a good price. We are still in the information gathering stage of the process. I need to know what questions to ask. Also am I biting off more than I can chew? Is this machine going to be much too difficult for us to learn? We will have all manuals, computer software and accessories that originally came with the machine. Can I have the machine inspected by someone locally before we purchase it? Who would I contact for this? I would ultimately like a smaller machine that we could easily transport to area competitions and monogram on the spot. Are there any recommendations for a machine to look into? We want to invest in a good machine in the beginning and do not know where to start. I appreciate any help you are able to offer.

I am also looking for a printer like machine that would print vinyl letter to apply to clothing and make appliqués for car windows. Can you steer me in the right direction for that endeavor also?

Thanks so much

EmbroideryDigitizing · March 31st, 2007, 09:04 AM

Hi,

Great to know that you are are willing to start an embroidery business. SWF is a good machine. I attended a local trade show and visited the SWF people. They had good quality korean machines. 1502 would be a 15 colour 2 head machine which i think is for about 10000 US dollars (NEW). They have various 1502 machines , im not sure which one you are talking about.

If you looking at mobile work, you best bet would be something like the PR600, its a single head machine and easy to carry to places. It wont give you as much production as a multihead machine but would certainly be good for a few logos to sell on the spot. You could always take larger orders from your clients and process them on a multihead machine. Better speed and better quality.

To start off with, id suggesst you buy a multihead machine.. the price difference between a 2 and 4 head machine will not be too much .. thats why i prefer a machine with more heads.. I just ordered a 12 head machine instead of a 4 head recently, just because i know that it wont let me down when i have loads of work..

Good luck with whatever you buy.