# Best embroidery machine for t shirts



## GSmithIntl (May 5, 2013)

Hi, I'm looking to gather opinions on what would be the best embroidery machine and software for putting logos on to t shirts and polo shirts.


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## BretMy (Nov 2, 2013)

melco seems to be a good starting machine, best of luck


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## 20vK (Jul 9, 2011)

Barudan and Tajima seem to be the best rated, I believe

If you're going into this fulltime, you need a decent number of heads, otherwise you (or your operator) will be sitting there for a while doing nothing and the jobs will take ages. A 4 or 6 head seem viable from what I've read on here.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Forget emb on tshirts. There isn't any money in it. Polo's jackets, and other high end items will make you bank. A single head will get you into the game but a multi head will make you money. A 4 head is a good start but if you can go bigger then do so.


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## lrsbranding (Aug 6, 2011)

If you are going to do production work to make a living you need at least a 6 head. We have a 6 head Tajima and a single head Barudan and wish we had more at times. Especially when your doing a logo that takes 30 minutes or more to sew out. As for best brand my research showed that Tajima, Barudan and Toyota ranked top but I think all the major brands work well. What ever brand you buy the best advice I can give is educate yourself on how embroidery works and make sure the machine you choose has the capability of doing what you want. Auto trimming, digital screen, 270 hat hoops, size of sewing field, etc. When choosing a digitizing software make sure it has the ability to import a digitized file and open it as if it created it so you can edit. I have Barudan's TES3 and whenever I try to edit a predigitized file it makes a mess of it when breaking blocks apart. We out source most of our digitizing and have never found a file format that TES3 would work with as if it created it. We just bought Wilcom and it can work with a dst or an emb as if it created the file. Our shop is in San Marcos if you want to look at a Tajima or Barudan. PM me if interested.


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## latitude42 (Sep 26, 2007)

Tajima is the Cadillac (what I have)... Keep em clean and oiled, they will run forever, but a bit more $$ (but worth it). Get a single head to get you feet wet. You will be able to do smaller jobs ok, and learn what you are doing, then find a good shop with multiple head machines (the same kind as you are buying so the stitching looks close to your samples) that will do contract embroidery (over 75-100 pieces). You will make more $$$ with less effort that way, you do the sales, they do the work... win win .
My 2 cents.


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## GSmithIntl (May 5, 2013)

Thank you all!!


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## GSmithIntl (May 5, 2013)

What would be a good machine for hats?


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## latitude42 (Sep 26, 2007)

A good machine is a good machine. Hats are a bit more difficult though. I can tell you that I'm doing an order for a few hundred caps (flexfit) right now, and my Tajima is going through them like a hot knife through butter!
my 2 cents.


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## GSmithIntl (May 5, 2013)

latitude42 said:


> A good machine is a good machine. Hats are a bit more difficult though. I can tell you that I'm doing an order for a few hundred caps (flexfit) right now, and my Tajima is going through them like a hot knife through butter!
> my 2 cents.


what digitizing softwear do you use?


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## MarStephenson761 (Sep 19, 2011)

Hey G,

Most of our customers start their businesses with a single head compact machine. If you're working out of your house to begin with, they take up much less space, the SWF 1501C needs about 2.5' square of space, AND it comes with a quick change cap system that makes embroidering on caps easy. 

Multi head machines are a great option if you are going to have large volumes of one logo to embroider. For example, if it takes 10 minutes to embroider one logo on a single head machine, you can do 2 in the same time on a 2 head, etc. BUT, if you do lots of short runs, it can make more sense to get more than one single head instead. 

Whatever you pick, pay close attention to the software that comes with it, as well as the hoops you get included, initial supplies, etc. All those things make a big difference in your first set of orders!


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## latitude42 (Sep 26, 2007)

GSmithIntl said:


> what digitizing softwear do you use?


 I use Pulse V.14. I'm not so sure I like it, but the designs are coming out good, just a bit non-user friendly... I've heard good about Wilcom, but have no experience with it... yet.


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