Whats your opinion

carisgarden

I have wanted an embroidery machine for about 13yrs and now that I'm in a position to get one I can not decide which make or model to go with.....Was hoping some of you more experienced people out there could help guide me. Maybe there is a collection of reviews on the net I haven't found yet???

I mostly want the machine for home use but entertain the idea of business possibilities. I am a stay at home mom thinking about making a lil extra but unsure of my capabilities. I look forward to any advice you have to offer!!

carisgarden

Also, I have a friend that has the Singer Futura Ce-250 and she feels I should get one as well since she believes its a great machine. Any one know if this machine is worth its price?

Eric

Tajima! Tajima! Tajima!

Don't even consider anything else. If you are wanting a nice single head, go Tajima, they are outstanding, I believe they are doing a special on machines now. Barudan is nice, but I don't like their singles, I only have their multi-heads. All my singles are tajimas (i have 6 singles)

Everything else: Swf, Melco, Brother, Happy, Prodigi is just plain garbage.

Jonathan

I don't speak up much here but Eric are you serious. The machines you listed as Garbage really I have customers that would put their SWF, Brother, Happy, ZSK against your Tajima and either stitch as good or better than you. Seriously your statement is so far off base I thinks it's funny especially as just about all the machines are the same. Really Brother produce machines for Tajima when they first started. Amazing how they can be classified as garbage does that mean your Tajima's back then were in the same category. I have nothing against Tajima but to say they are that much better and the rest are garbage. Is pretty hard to swallow. But this is my opinion I would run Brother, Barudan, ZSK even Happy and SWF against Tajima.

Eric

I'll take that challenge ... any day.

Eric

the only thing that can give tajima a run for its money would be barudan. I have over 400 heads, and 2 laser bridges in my shop. I have owned almost every emboridery machine there is at one time or another.

Perhaps I was a little harsh, some brands are less garbage than others, nothing will outrun a tajima or barudan, in quality or longevity. I will give respect to ZSK, they are good machines but are on the over engineered side, and a fortune to fix in the even that something goes wrong, ther is NO STANDARD timing on a ZSK, so every machine has diferent timing, talk about rough to work on if you loose the gauge.

Perhaps the only machine that might not deserve my garbage list is brother. I have seen some good things come from them, and my 4 head back in the day was good to me for what it was worth, amd the M bobbins are nice.

SWF stays at the top of the garbage heap, I had to take them to court about 5 years ago over my machine, I won.

As for the rest of them, put 40,000 hours (about 10 years assuming 2 shifts a day, accounting for holidays and idle time) and see if any of the lesser brands are still standing. I have a barudan from 1989 in my shop. still running.

logopr

Eric, I fix machines, and not all the machines you listed are garbage. Every machine needs maintenance, and what i have see in big shops is the production is what only counts and they don't take the time to air blow ,oil , grease the machines and that's when the machines start performing bad. My favorites are Tajimas but I think they are expensive. just stay away from any machine made in China, SWF will give you the best machine at an affordable price and will last as long as a Tajima. Maintenance is the key for the life of any machine, don't get lazy take some time everyday and make those machines feel like they are in a Spa .

Eric

I totally agree with you ... had my SWF actually worked, maybe it would have been a different story, they sent a tech out to me 3 times, as well as gave me the royal run around on the phone for WEEKS saying, It must be me, and my shop. Needless to say, SWF got their machine back, and my attorney, got me my money back.

I'm just saying Tajimas & Barudan and solid machines, Stay away from China, and everything else is is just OK.

nguyenmman

How is Toyota machine?
Thanks.

garagewear

The new (9000 / 9100) Toyotas are Tajimas with Toyota name. The 850 and 860 were Toyota designed. Some will say they are junk but I would argue they are just as good provided you learn how to service it. Finding technicians for an 850/860 is very difficult. Now that I have figured out the quirks in my 860 it sews as good as a brand new Tajima or Barudan.

Tajima, Barudan, Happy, Toyota and SWF all have a good following and good service reputations. Occasionally someone will have a bad experience and hate a brand but isn't that the case with anything?

I think all of the above are Japanese however I have heard the SWF was Korean so I don't know for sure. I looked at the Chinese machines and they just didn't seem to have the quality and the brands only last a few years then a new name gets slapped on them. Some have even resurected old machine names.

Bottom line is:
1. Find a machine that fits your needs. If you don't NEED 15 needles don't spend that money right now.
2. Find a machine that has a techincian in your area. Get a technician to do a presale inspection of a used machine for you!
3. Go see machines in action at someone elses shop.
4. If you don't buy new make sure you can find training for a specific machine.
5. If you are thinking small multi head (2-4)make sure it is dual function or networkable single heads so you can run multiple small jobs at once.