Need Help!!!!

By Wood on Mar 23, 2006
Wood's picture

i do screen printing in my spare time up to four colors and now i want to add a embroidery to the list of services. My question is i need an embroidery machine that can handle Dickies Jackets now i know they aren't cheap but i would like to get the best bang for the buck, should i lease?and this is just a side business that i would like to make full time. also i am on mac do any of these machines work with mac. i am a graphic designer by day and would like it if all worked together.

any help, suggestions???
thanks

Wood's picture
By Wood on Mar 24, 2006 - 10:47 AM EST

No help???? I would just like to pic someones brain! I have read through the other threads and still have questions....come on guys help me out!

By Marc on Mar 24, 2006 - 11:46 AM EST

Welcome to the forums :)

Are you already accepting embroidery orders and contracting them out and are now looking to offer embroidery services in-house? This is a very important question; let us know the answer first before we get more into details.

Microsoft has a product called "Virtual PC for Mac" that will allow you to use PC-only embroidery software on your Mac.

Wood's picture
By Wood on Mar 24, 2006 - 12:34 PM EST

Must of the clubs that i silkscreen for doing their shirts and posters keep asking me when and if i am going to start offering this i don't think they will be huge orders. But they are not happy with the place they get there stuff from cause all the stitching pulls out of the jackets. i was thinking if i could do enough orders just to pay for a machine i would be happy with that for now. As for virtual PC that program is a crap shoot...lol. I am just doing a home set up for silkscreening right now. And i am not contracting them out i just keep get asked the same question all the time and they are not happy with who they use and would rather spend there money with a club member.

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By Wood on Mar 24, 2006 - 12:36 PM EST

and i would like to keep everything mac base cause that is how my studio is set up... Thanks for the welcome.

By Marc on Mar 24, 2006 - 6:28 PM EST

Okay this is another long post :)

The risky (or foolish) way would be to act on impulse and just dive in and get a commercial machine and digitizing software and see how it goes. If things don't work out, kiss thousands of dollars goodbye. There are people who have gone this route and succeeded, of course, there are also many, many more who failed.

You will find that many sole proprietors in the embroidery field who started out making money quickly already had what it took to be successful--for the most part at least. You see, it's not uncommon for embroidery shop owners to have worked for other embroidery companies in the past.

Since everyone's situation is different, there is really no secret formula other than to have a solid business plan and work hard. Honestly, if I were in your shoes I would find a GOOD local embroidery company and outsource all your embroidery needs for a period of time until you can determine if everything looks promising based on your unique situation to justify investing your time and money.

Quote:

and i would like to keep everything mac base cause that is how my studio is set up...

I don't know how much you know about the embroidery process, but custom designs needs to be digitized before they can be embroidered. Embroidery digitizing is not done strictly by graphics software. Digitizing is a bit tricky to learn. It requires that you have a lot of embroidery experience before becoming a pro. I know you're a graphic designer so that's a big plus. Here is a post by ScottyStitches who is also a graphic designer about digitizing: Digitizing software learning curve

Visit this thread for related info: Thinking of Starting an Embroidery Business

Unfortunately software for the embroidery industry is generally geared towards MS Windows users. I guess you can dedicate a used PC for embroidery related software.

To buy or lease a machine depends on your situation. With leasing, you pay over a period of time. This frees up funds that can be used for emergencies and unforeseen expenses that a new venture is likely to face, and to buy other equipment and inventory to speed up the growth of your business. The disadvantage of leasing is that in the end, you do end up paying more compared to buying the machine outright. If you have limited funds, buying a machine outright may not be an option at all anyways.

Visit this thread for related info:
Help! Thinking of buying a commercial embroidery machine