Which Machine to Purchase?? HELP!

tamyra · September 22nd, 2007, 05:11 PM

I am a screen printer and have recently opened a small retail store. I had a lady who is doing embroidery for me, but she has a small machine and is ruining more bags than I can buy and she doesn't do caps at all. So...I am now in the market for a machine. I have looked locally at a Brother PR 600-II. I think the local store is a little proud of theirs. I have also heard good things about the Baby Lock Embroidery Professional. I would love to have some advice or feedback about which machine to go with. Bags & Caps are going to be a big issue with me. I am located in Northeast Arkansas.

Thanks for any help!

mino · September 22nd, 2007, 06:21 PM

Personally, I can recommend the PR600. I love mine, it produces neat clean stitches and is fairly easy to do caps. I know there are far better machines out there but they probably cost a lot more. I'm very happy with the PR600 and I've had excellent feed back on the quality of embroidery it produces. Good luck with your choice. mino

Rene Rosales · September 25th, 2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tamyra

I am a screen printer and have recently opened a small retail store. I had a lady who is doing embroidery for me, but she has a small machine and is ruining more bags than I can buy and she doesn't do caps at all. So...I am now in the market for a machine. I have looked locally at a Brother PR 600-II. I think the local store is a little proud of theirs. I have also heard good things about the Baby Lock Embroidery Professional. I would love to have some advice or feedback about which machine to go with. Bags & Caps are going to be a big issue with me. I am located in Northeast Arkansas.

Thanks for any help!

Tamyra:
I think the PR-600 is a good machine... and the Babylock EMP-6 is mechanically identical. As far as small "compact" size embroidery machines go, I've worked with the Brother and have watched it perform good-quality sewing. However, there's another machine in the market that's slightly up-market, called the HAPPY Voyager that you may want to consider as well. It's slightly pricier (but not compared to the big heavy duty single-head embroidery machines) but it's built for long-term production (bigger motors, stronger internal mechanical bits) and it has a bigger sewing area for both hats and shirts (plus 6 more colors). If you don't intend to run more than light to medium volume production, I think the Brother is a great machine for the price and in my opinion a little easier to learn. But if you are looking for a full duty-cycle machine (40 hours per week or more production), I would recommend the HAPPY Voyager or a larger machine. Website to find dealers and learn more about the machine is www.happyemb.com

Just my 2 cents.
Rene Rosales

happpy1 · November 11th, 2007, 01:19 AM

I have 2 brand new HAPPY VOYAGERs for sale. They are awesome!!! Hate to sell them but absolutely must. They are extremely user friendly, compact, and great little producers.

ssnooker2 · November 27th, 2007, 09:07 PM

Where are you located and how much for the machines ?

Scott

[email address]

gumbi17 · December 1st, 2007, 12:24 PM

I like the look of the happy voyager and it sounds like it is a viable option, but what is the price range. None of the websites give a price

njdrumrun · January 3rd, 2008, 03:12 PM

are there any machines we should stay away from and why?

SunEmbroidery · January 4th, 2008, 10:31 AM

Just a note about doing bags on compact machines: flexible bags aren't a problem but you can have lack of space problems with non flexible bags such as computer cases. What happens is the bag can't fit between the sides of the machine. I don't know what types of bags you do but this might be a consideration.