Starting out, things to consider

Jbab · February 22nd, 2009, 12:43 PM

My wife and I are looking at doing a small embroidery business in our home. Online store front focusing on simple items. Military name tapes, patches, pet collars, bibs, etc. I would eventually like to get into hats and apparel. I have looked at AMAYA, however, thanks to all of you on this site, I don't think I will consider them now.
My question is what machines would you consider starting out? Also, besides here, where else would you turn to in order to get myself educated on the business?
I have many other questions but I will start here.
Thanks for your help in advance,
Jesse

Eric · February 25th, 2009, 03:08 PM

Hi Jesse,

Well ... There are enough things out there to make your head spin, especially starting out, thats for sure. You dropped some very different points in your post. So I will try to lay out a few scenarios for you.

If you want a very nice "home" machine you should look at the brother PR-600 / PR-620. It is also know as a babylock BMP6 or BMP8. They are the highest end machine you can get without going commercial grade. They are nice machines, I own 4 of them. They are easy to get started with, and you can create things the minute you take it out of the box. However, you mentioned name tape and pet collars. Those are very tough to embroider on without the right setup, and they would probably be very strenuous on a non-commercial machine. To embroider those you will want to buy a clamp system. Clamp systems are expensive but very much worth it.

Now for the tough one, Commercial grade machines:
A good rule is to stay Japanese made. That means basically Barudan or Tajima. They are the big boys in the industry. Barudan is the most expensive, but in my opinion worth ever penny. I own a 6 head and it is incredible!
Tajima is still a very good machine, but in my opinion, it "ain't what it used to be" I have a newer 2 head, and an older 4 head. The older model machines seem to be a little more substantial. However, they will still never do you wrong.
SWF is Korean made, probably 3rd in the industry behind Barudan and Tajima. I have a hard time staying un-biased here, I have not had pleasant experiences with them, and have a very bad taste from their support. However, people who have them, seem to rave about them, I just can't say that.
ZSK is german made, nice machines, but expensive and over engineered. If something goes wrong, it will be a fortune to fix.
Melco is garbage, it is mostly plastic, and chinese made. However they are "assembled" in the USA. They are not US made like they often times like to claim.
Occasionally you will run into a commercial Happy.... Happy = Sad. They are in the same league as melco.

Now where to buy has their perks. You CAN buy machines off of here, craigslist, ebay, etc etc ... However for your first machine I would STRONGLY suggest you buy from a dealer or manufacturer. You will pay more, but they will include all kinds of training and or software to get you started. Once you have a grasp and know your machine, then buy one on the used market if you find the need for a bigger or second machine.

With the economy in the gutter, you can get some great deals.
Don't be shy! Make them fight for your business!
Buying commercial machines is like buying a car, beware of sales tactics.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Embroidery is my life. I'm always around.

-- Eric

nnr001 · February 26th, 2009, 10:28 AM

I have put up for sale everythin you need to start your business. Ck out the listing under Used Embroidery machines for sale. The Toyota is the same machine as the Tajima. The saleman argue about who make whose machine but they are the same. Great machine it has never had the first problem. My wife and I have a small embroidery business like you want to start but we both have other jobs and just have not had the time to work with it. I will haelp you get started if you are close to Indiana.

SunEmbroidery · March 1st, 2009, 09:27 PM

For a good commercial single head I would recommend the Tajima Neo. Not cheap but a real workhorse and easy to operate.

In addition to dealer training (available when you purchase a new machine), tradeshow classes are good. ISS http://www.issshows.com/ usually has a beginner one day seminar that should be good. Subscribing to trade journals such as http://www.impressionsmag.com/impressions/index.jsp , http://www.asipublications.com/Stitches/ and http://www.nbm.com/pw/ will give you lots of helpful information. On line forums can be very helpful. There are different machine/software specific and non-specific user groups that can provide a wealth of information.

Bigcat23 · March 13th, 2009, 10:56 PM

I had a Melco EMC1 and Brother in the past. I currently have a Tajima NEO and it FAR outworks the previous two. When I upgrade it will be with Tajima again. Their machines are awesome and there support is beyond reproach.

nnr001 · April 7th, 2009, 01:13 PM

I am in Yorktown IN (Outside Muncie). The Toyota ESP 9000 is the same machine as the Tajima Neo. My machine is set up and running. If you would like a demo just let me know and come up on a weekend and you are welcome to play with it for a couple hours if you want. Bring along something to embroider and I will be glad to show you how it works. 765-759-1973. Everything you need to start your business is included except a computer(anyone will work). Even have the double face lighted outdoor sign available.

EmbroideryTech · April 7th, 2009, 04:26 PM

Wow, when you open up the "what machine do you prefer?" box you get a huge response.

It is pretty simple to look at the differences. I have been in the industry for over 15 yeras as a machine technician and I can say that ERIC has the most detailed response that is probably the most accurate without getting into his opinions too much. That is pretty hard to find in this industry.

As mentioned you do need to consider the name tape thing. This is usually a very tightly woven fabric that can be very think and tough to sew through. It can cause some severe wear and tear on a less then commercial machine. I will not say that a PR620 cannot do it, but the question is how long and how much to repair because of the use.

In this down-turned economy you really should consider the used market. There are a number of used machines that are in a really good to almost new condition. I know of a Single Head Nine Needle Brother (commercial) machine that was purchased by a technician and now he would like to unload it. That is a machine that is in good condition and maintained properly. It runs about $8500.00. A new one of the same kind runs about $12K+.

When looking at machines all sales reps will tell you why they are better then the one you mentioned you are looking at. In many cases they can be fairly accurate since they too have worked for almost every machine distributor as well. So they are now just telling you the one they are selling is the best since they work there now. Six months ago they would have told you something different when they worked somewhere else.

You need to determine what is important to you first. Sewing Field, Sewing Speed, Hats, Shirts, Memory, Size of Machine, Price, Service, Maintenance, etc. Once you have a good idea of what you need in a machine, now you can go looking at a machines. Look at every machine. I do tend to agree that Japan Made is typically the best. This includes more then just Barudan and Tajima. Tajima, Barudan, Brother, Happy etc are all made in Japan. I am not saying that all are good machines, but they are all made in Japan. I tend to prefer Brother Single Head Machines for most home sized businesses. The machine is very well built and the machine itself has not been remodeled in over 10 years. Yes they have added more needles but they have not changed the machine in general. Most of the other machines are changed every 3-5 years. Then you are faced with new technology that may or may not be well tested. This is where most machines get the bad press. They release a machine too quickly with minimal testing.

You need to find someone who will help you for you and not their own benefits. Look for a con****ant that will give you untainted advice. Advice that is accurate and appropriate for your needs. Posts on forums are a great source of things to consider but you then must take a bunch of advice that is usually different based on their opinions and now you will feel more lost as they are all controdicting in nature. They may not be intented that way, but you will feel that they really didn't help in the long run as they just opened up more questions. This is a good thing but can be very overwhelming in the long run.

Feel free to contact me for additional thoughts and suggestions. I do work with companies and businesses in this capacity but offer simple short advice for free. If we start talking on a longer more detailed basis then there are fees for this service, but give me a call to see if you have anything I can help you with.

Thanks,