# Stick with Brother, or? (long post, sorry)



## txaj65 (Dec 19, 2008)

Hi all,

I'm new to the site, and I've been reading the postings to try to sort out some questions I have. Let me give some background.

My wife bought a Brother Innovis 4000D a couple of years ago with the intention of doing a small scale embroidery business on the side. We bought it from a dealer in another city where I worked frequently. 

It worked OK for a short while, then we took it in for servicing because of some issues. It worked OK after that, but then the dealer retired and closed the business.

We took it in to a local dealer the next time, and it's now back in for servicing again. The problem is the same - thread bunching, breaking frequently, etc. We are both very frustrated with it at this point, but I'm not sure if it's something we're doing wrong, if the dealer's service is poor, or the machine is just a lemon.

We've come to the conclusion that even if the machine were working properly, it probably wouldn't be the best choice for accomplishing what we want to do. The dealer that has it for servicing now is pushing a PR620, but we haven't talked seriously with them yet.

I'm leery of buying another Brother because of the problems with the 4000D, and I'm also waiting to see how this latest repair goes. If it still doesn't work properly, I'm not going to have much faith in the dealer being able to fix a 620 if it needs repairs.

At this point, I'd like some recommendations on a suitable machine for a startup business. She intends to do caps, names and logos on shirts, and probably some other miscellaneous type stuff. Keep in mind that this is a part time business which may or may not ever be a full time endeavor.

A 6 needle machine is probably adequate for most of the designs she's done, and portability is not a requirement as it will not be typically moved. Blazing speed is not as important as quality and reliability. Support is also key, especially phone support as we are not in a large metro area.

Thanks for any help,

Andy


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## joeshaul (Mar 1, 2008)

Could it be something as simple as improper digitizing? 

We were having a lot of problems with our dinosaur Melco machine, thread bunching, breaking, needles breaking, after about 4-5 hours of playing around and trying different things, it came down to poor digitizing, I was trying to convert some logos and had no experience digitizing. After we tried a few of her old logos, some old designs and seeing them sew out perfectly. I started playing around a bit more and finally got some stable results, although I am still not a very good digitizer we'll probably invest in a new machine and some training when we get more call of it. We had this machine sitting dormant for ten years, so I kept suspecting something mechanical, but it's actually working quite fine, too bad newer embroidery machines are 1/3rd of the price and have ten times the features


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## ggraphics (Nov 20, 2008)

We have an older melco single head and a tajima 6 head. Melco now has the amaya line and I don't know much about them, but our EMT 10T works like a champ - 9 yrs. old. The tajima has been great also - 4 yrs. old. We used to have a brother 3 head but sold it because it wasn't up to par. Of the 3 we've had the brother was the lowest on the performance totem pole. I bet there are those here that will say brother is the best. Just keep your ears open. Good luck.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

I have 2 Brother PR600's, one has 30 million stitches on it, the other is over 40 million I think. They are complete work horses and have only been in the shop for repairs once each. We occasionally have thread break problems, it usually justs needs a tension adjustment and it's back to working away... the only reason I am considering selling one is we are in the process of purchasing a much bigger table-unit from SWF for doing jackets.


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## txaj65 (Dec 19, 2008)

Thanks for the responses. We picked up the machine Friday, and stitched out several designs today with it. So far, so good. The problem apparently was thread jammed up in the top area somewhere, just needed to be cleaned out again, I guess.

The lady at the store did comment that the design my wife was trying to sew was really dense, and didn't sew out too good. That design coupled with extra tension from the thread pieces probably was our problem this time. I'll still be watching closely for further issues, still kind of leery about this machine.

The PR600 seems to be a viable choice for an upgrade if we go that route, I guess my only concern is the area it can embroider. If I remember right, it will do a 12"x8" design, but I think that's adequate for most of what we want to do.

Also, what are the main differences between the PR600, PR600II, and the new PR620? I briefly checked the Brother site, but didn't notice anything different. I think there's also a PR620C listed under the industrial machines, is that the same as the regular PR620?

Thanks for any help,

Andy


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## dan-ann (Oct 25, 2007)

I also have 2 Pr 600's and love them - With proper maintainence they will be great for a small business. Mine are the orginal machines and are about 4 yrs old. I take them in once a year to be checked out. I do everything from t-shirts to heavy carhart jackets on them. There is a yahoo group for the machines that is very helpful and most problems are operator error

The most important thing to research is the dealer and service tech.


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

txaj65 said:


> Also, what are the main differences between the PR600, PR600II, and the new PR620? I briefly checked the Brother site, but didn't notice anything different. I think there's also a PR620C listed under the industrial machines, is that the same as the regular PR620?


It's like buying a car that's been made for 10 years. Each model year has incremental upgrades from year to year, sometimes it's just the badges... I think the 620 might have a slightly smaller cylinder than the 600, otherwise I don't see much of a difference. They mention the cap frame is larger but it looks to be a very small difference from what I can see. The new cylinder frame set looks like a nice setup and it appears that it can also be used on the 600's.


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## dan-ann (Oct 25, 2007)

It takes a rather expensive upgrade to use the the new cylinders on the pr600's.


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## proprint1 (Aug 20, 2007)

Nice post, Thank you for sharing this withus.


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

I labored for almost a year when we decided to add embroidery service to our shop.....with a limited budget and after countless hours scouring here and other forums we bought a SWF E-U1501 and havent looked back...it was a new model at the time and offered the ability to do lettermans jackets....well the machine is almost 3 years old and has only had one slight issue which was fixed the next day by SWF's great repair staff.....I'm glad I went SWF after reading about other machines.....we're now adding a 6 head dual function machine from SWF....they're the leaders....everyone else is following....


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## imeccentric (May 13, 2007)

Andy,
You won't go wrong with the brother's. Basically no working difference between any in the 600 series. The 600II can use a usb stick, brother card, and usb input while the 600 uses usb or floppy input. the 620 has an extra 1/2 inch height to the cap field and will accept a cylinder frame that is totally useless because of it's small sewing field. 99% of what you sew will fit just fine in the sewing areas of any of these machines as will color changes. I have two 600II(no difference in the 600C series either, just a different name), and a Barudan. The brothers are much easier and cheaper to maintain and will literally run forever. You can buy two of them for any one of the 15 needle machines. If you do want to spend the money for a 15 needle, stay with the Japanese machines(brother, toyota, tajima, and barudan). I have nothing against SWF's, but the internal workings are not as good for HEAVY useage as the japanese machines are. Ask any independent tech and they will tell you. Check the yahoo groups for any specific brand and you will see what I mean. Very few posts for help needed on the japanese machine, but lots on SWF. SWF does offer the most bang for the buck in a start up package and has great user groups for support though. It really depends on the usage you will give it. Always go with the machine that has the best dealer support in your area. Trust me, you will need it


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