# expanding into embroidery



## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Currently we only doing screenprinting but we are considering expanding into embroidery. What machines would you recommend?


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## 539162 (Jun 12, 2015)

It depends on your budget. Do you plan on running big orders or small orders? Are you looking for a single head or a multi-head? The machine discussion gets asked a lot and what brand etc. Everybody has their preference and what is important to them. Make sure whatever brand machine you buy that you have a local tech.

Brands to avoid: Any Chinese Brand whether it is RiComa, Redline, Pro Shuttle, Meistergram, Cam 5, Prodigi, Feiya, Phoenix etc

Brands I recommend for durability:
Happy (Everytime I work on these they impress me on how well built they are)
Barudan
ZSK and that is no paticular order. Of course these cost a little more but in the long run they are worth it and you would be hard pressed to find a more solid durable machine. I will add Tajima to this list only if you can find a EX or FX type model which will be 05 or older. These Tajimas are built better, have better electronics and area true Japanese machine.

Budget Brands: (Bang For Your Buck)
SWF (I would say equal to Tajima, I feel the Tajima is overpriced)
Melco (Great Training and Tech Support, I think Melco is tops in the support aspect)
Brother (They are smaller and not as commercial but are very good and well built machines. I typically like the BES, 415 and 416 series if you can find them used. The new ones are the PR Series)

Look for used machines as well from Toyota Ad 860 to ESP 9000 or 9100. Toyotas aren't made anymore but are very solid machines. Of course you can find the Brother 415, 416, BES used as well. If you need any help or have questions please feel free to PM me.


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## sindhu g n (Feb 9, 2016)

hi..
Select the machine based on your budget and order.if you want to start it in large scale RPED-FN-920-330(660)x1200 is the best machine.

Main Features and Functions: 
1.We can reduce thread breakage rate and tread travel path is very smooth. 
2.enable to work under high electricity fluctuation & breakdown rate condition, minimize machine problem. 
3.Quality of embroidary is high, it si easy to detect whether the thread is finished or broken.	

For small scale i think Combination SE400 Embroidery Machine is better.
Features :
1. 67 different sewing stitches, 5 font styles and 70 in-built embroidery designs is available in this machine.
2.It can be easily connected to computer to download embroidery designs.
3. It is a multi-purpose machine that facilitates quilting, embroidering and sewing.


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## RiCOMAmiguel (Oct 31, 2013)

Hi EmbroidTek! 

We're sorry you feel that way about RiCOMA. Like many large companies, we only manufacture our machines in China but we are an American company and based in the US. If anything does happen to go wrong with your machine, we do give customer service 7 days a week with after hours Monday-Friday. RiCOMA is over 15 years old and growing every year because of our great reliability and customer service. You can visit us anytime, whether at our base or at trade shows, to get to know the company and our machines better.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

EmbroidTek said:


> It depends on your budget. Do you plan on running big orders or small orders? Are you looking for a single head or a multi-head? The machine discussion gets asked a lot and what brand etc. Everybody has their preference and what is important to them. Make sure whatever brand machine you buy that you have a local tech.
> 
> Brands to avoid: Any Chinese Brand whether it is RiComa, Redline, Pro Shuttle, Meistergram, Cam 5, Prodigi, Feiya, Phoenix etc
> 
> ...


EmbroideryTek, are you a embroidery repairman for these machines or an embroidery business?


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Okay, if I am going to expand would you guys recommend I go with embroidery, DTG or sublimation? I think I can go with all of them. It would have to be one of them.


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## 539162 (Jun 12, 2015)

amistad said:


> EmbroideryTek, are you a embroidery repairman for these machines or an embroidery business?


I am a Embroidery Technician so I repair machines. I also am a owner/operator and do have a shop and I am a dealer as well.


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## Wildgoose (Mar 5, 2013)

I think for diversity you would probably want to go embroidery. DTG is almost the same thing you already do other than being easier to do multiple colors and such. I think it's also limited on fabric options if my reading on the subject was not incorrect. Sublimation is cool as heck as long as you like white 100% polyester so also very limited. You can actually try out sublimation relatively inexpensively if you go the epson route and already have a press. I have recently stepped into the embroidery end and have found it to be fairly easy to make money. The initial investment is high and the learning curve fairly steep at first but running costs are real low once you have your machine and hoops.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

amistad said:


> Currently we only doing screenprinting but we are considering expanding into embroidery. What machines would you recommend?


A single head will get you into the game but it won't make much money for you, if any. But if you don't have work for it a 4 head is a waste of money until you can fill it. If you start out with a single head get a full size, not a compact. Once you start filling it all day every day then buy a 4 or 6 head. Once you fill that you can get another one and keep going from there. 

The embroidery software is expensive. Wilcom is the leader of the pack but there are others out there that are less money. You will need a good digitizer also while you are learning and also for harder stuff you don't have time or skill to do. 

As far as machines, any name brand such as Tajima, SWF, Happy, Braudran (I can never remember how to spell that one), and so on. Stay away from the china versions such as inbro, highland, ricoma and such. 

Also, if you really want to go high end consider getting a laser with it. Either a flat bed or one attached to your machine (far more expensive) so you can do high end stuff in a hurry such as tackle twill and applique. You can make a fortune with those. 

Don't do DTG or sublimation. Embroidery will make you far more money. 

Good Luck.


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

I would consider the types of jobs your customers have asked about and you turned down because you didn't have the right equipment. Adding embroidery would give you the most flexibility but DTG printing might allow you to easily add smaller printing jobs and be especially profitable if no one else has a DTG printer in your area. Pretty much everyone agrees there is a greater learning curve with embroidery. Sublimation has a very specific market.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

I have had to turn down embroidery more than anything else I would say. 

DTG would have helped me in some jobs but most of them I can do. Looks like embroidery is what I am leaning to. 

Also on another topic. I have vinyl cutter. I can do names and numbers but am limited to that. I am also thinking about getting an print vinyl cutter. And getting an engraver. I am not so sure of the engraver but it crossed my mind.


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## Nitrox73 (Apr 27, 2015)

binki said:


> A single head will get you into the game but it won't make much money for you, if any.


We've done extremely well (profit wise) with a single head machine and it more than paid for itself in the first 6 months we had it. We are now considering a multi-head but that's mostly because we are now getting more than we can handle.

As to the OP. We turned away a lot of embroidery when we just offered screen printing. Our embroidery has opened up a new market as well as brought in customers that end up using us for screen printing as well.


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## Nitrox73 (Apr 27, 2015)

amistad said:


> Also on another topic. I have vinyl cutter. I can do names and numbers but am limited to that. I am also thinking about getting an print vinyl cutter. And getting an engraver. I am not so sure of the engraver but it crossed my mind.


We bought a Roland and that thing runs non-stop. We do a crazy amount of decals and stickers. We thought we'd use it for heat transfer vinyl but it's close to 80% stickers. 

If you buy one do this, throw in a handful of sticker with every screen printing order you get with their design on it. We get a LOT of calls in the next couple days after the see them in the box with their shirts. It's straight up printing money...


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Nitrox73 said:


> We bought a Roland and that thing runs non-stop. We do a crazy amount of decals and stickers. We thought we'd use it for heat transfer vinyl but it's close to 80% stickers.
> 
> If you buy one do this, throw in a handful of sticker with every screen printing order you get with their design on it. We get a LOT of calls in the next couple days after the see them in the box with their shirts. It's straight up printing money...


Sounds like a good idea. I heard these run about $15,000 is that correct.


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## Nitrox73 (Apr 27, 2015)

amistad said:


> Sounds like a good idea. I heard these run about $15,000 is that correct.


You can get a-
BN-20 for $7K
SP-300i 30" for $12K
Sp-540i 54" is $15-16K. 

Get as big as you can afford. We started with BN20 and went to the 300i.

We've done some neat custom printed heat transfer vinyl but decals is where the money is in our area. We're ready for motocross season to start. Custom race numbers are big sellers also.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Nitrox73 said:


> You can get a-
> BN-20 for $7K
> SP-300i 30" for $12K
> Sp-540i 54" is $15-16K.
> ...


Can you pm me some sample pictures so I can discuss it with my wife about possibly buying this vinyl cutter?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Nitrox73 said:


> We've done extremely well (profit wise) with a single head machine and it more than paid for itself in the first 6 months we had it. We are now considering a multi-head but that's mostly because we are now getting more than we can handle...


That is pretty much my point. A single head will pay for itself but it isn't enough. There is no way to do 500 garments with 3 locations and get them done in a reasonable time or worse yet do hundreds of patches for clubs and finish them fast enough. 

The multi-heads pay for themselves in just a couple of months. We can add 4 times what we have now and still keep them busy.


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## Chase Sign (Feb 18, 2016)

We use both Solvent (HP 9000s) and thermal (Gerber FX) prints for heat transfer, as well as for decals. both do very well.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Chase Sign said:


> We use both Solvent (HP 9000s) and thermal (Gerber FX) prints for heat transfer, as well as for decals. both do very well.


I am not familiar with model number and such let alone cost for these models.


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## Chase Sign (Feb 18, 2016)

HP 9000s you can pick up between$2500 -$6500 depending on usage, Gerber Edge FX is $16,000 plus cutter.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Chase Sign said:


> HP 9000s you can pick up between$2500 -$6500 depending on usage, Gerber Edge FX is $16,000 plus cutter.


Okay, HP9000s is not bad. Are these models still in production? $16,000 for the Gerber Edge, gonna have to really look into our budget to see if we can upgrade to that price. I know that we get what we pay for but the budget will determine what we can get. I was even considering getting a SBA loan and get the cutter and embroidery machine together.


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## gnizitigid (Jan 23, 2007)

binki said:


> The embroidery software is expensive. Wilcom is the leader of the pack but there are others out there that are less money. You will need a good digitizer also while you are learning and also for harder stuff you don't have time or skill to do.
> 
> Good Luck.


Wilcom is costly, it also depends on which machine you buy and which digitizing file format is needed. Wilcom almost can do all formats except pulse files. As for digitizing, you can try names and letters yourself to learn and outsource complex design in starting.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Wilcom?? What are we looking at in $$$. I know this is in addition to the machine.


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## gnizitigid (Jan 23, 2007)

amistad said:


> Wilcom?? What are we looking at in $$$. I know this is in addition to the machine.


I am sure buying wilcom is not first choice in starting, you can see some products here
https://www.wilcom.com/en-us/products.aspx


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## 539162 (Jun 12, 2015)

Compucon is every bit as good as Wilcom for a fraction of the price and can be had from $300 to $600. While I do prefer Wilcom, I don't think a beginner needs to fork out that kind of money for software. I still feel it is cheaper to farm out digitizing then to hire someone or do it yourself and lose time doing it. There is too many people who digitize and half the companies in India can do it cheaper then a US digitizer and do the same job for a fraction. I digitize but I am on the road so much I don't have time for it and it doesn't pay enough to sit on front of a computer.


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## Biverson (Oct 20, 2014)

amistad said:


> Wilcom?? What are we looking at in $$$. I know this is in addition to the machine.


Looking at around $1800. That's what I got E3 for. I'm just learning and enjoy it. If you have an understanding of how to put graphics together, particularly vector, that helps a lot. 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Do any of you have any experience with the "Expert ESP9100NET" or the "PRO SYSTEMS CAPSULE EMBROIDERY MACHINE"? Good reviews, bad reviews???


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

Also the PRO SHUTTLE EMBROIDERY MACHINE.


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## 539162 (Jun 12, 2015)

amistad said:


> Do any of you have any experience with the "Expert ESP9100NET" or the "PRO SYSTEMS CAPSULE EMBROIDERY MACHINE"? Good reviews, bad reviews???


Toyota is not made anymore. It was a good machine but if it breaks good luck finding parts. Pro Shuttle is a Chinese Machine it is best to stay away. I say this time and time again about Chinese embroidery machines.


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## RiCOMAmiguel (Oct 31, 2013)

amistad said:


> Also the PRO SHUTTLE EMBROIDERY MACHINE.


Hi Amistad, 

If you would like more information about RiCOMA, you can check our website. We offer 0% financing for 60 months with payments as low as $179 per month. We also offer unlimited technical support. Plus, after hour services. You can contact us any time and we'll be glad to give you a full demonstration of our machines. 

Best of luck, 

http://ricoma.us/


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

RiCOMAmiguel said:


> Hi Amistad,
> 
> If you would like more information about RiCOMA, you can check our website. We offer 0% financing for 60 months with payments as low as $179 per month. We also offer unlimited technical support. Plus, after hour services. You can contact us any time and we'll be glad to give you a full demonstration of our machines.
> 
> ...


Is this for embroidery or DTG?


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

What do you guys think of Ricoma?


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

amistad said:


> What do you guys think of Ricoma?


Wouldn't touch it.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

binki said:


> Wouldn't touch it.


Hahahaha, okay....


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## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

You might want to post a thread in the referrals and recommendations forum, then embroidery vendors can actually reply to you possibly with pricing information... but I wouldn't count on it... 

They are not allowed to 'solicit' in the regular forums...


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

amistad said:


> Hahahaha, okay....


Not a top tier brand, not a 2nd tier or even 3rd.


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## amistad (Nov 28, 2012)

tfalk said:


> You might want to post a thread in the referrals and recommendations forum, then embroidery vendors can actually reply to you possibly with pricing information... but I wouldn't count on it...
> 
> They are not allowed to 'solicit' in the regular forums...


Thanks. I will do that.


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