# Embroidery Or Sceen Printing?



## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

I am looking to get into Embroidery or Screen Printing as a business and am wondering which is more lucrative starting out? I know there are a lot of variables and differences but asking only on the money side thanks.


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## aimagedesign (Sep 2, 2009)

Redeemed1 said:


> I am looking to get into Embroidery or Screen Printing as a business and am wondering which is more lucrative starting out? I know there are a lot of variables and differences but asking only on the money side thanks.


I would take a look at the local competition... and see where there's an oppotunity.

I operate an embroidery business/service and since 1999.
We see more competition from indusrty suppliers, who provide embroidery for _free_ or heavily discount the service.
offsetting the value/cost of such with the profits enjoyed in their apparel.

For the most part apparel suppliers seem to stay away from Silk Screening... the reason, i'm not sure. (Maybe a Silk Screener can answer that).
Or maybe it's the mess with inks and glue.

If you do decide to go with embroidery concentrate your efforts on direct sales combining the embroidery with apparel, and avoid _simply _offering embroidery as a service.
This way you too will enjoy the profits in the apparel.

Take care!


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## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

Thanks!.... Is there anyone that does both embroidery and screen printing that can give me in site on which produces more capital? If it helps I'm located in California thanks.


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## missswissinc (Feb 21, 2012)

Here is my opinion and yes our company does both embroidery and screen printing. Either part will produce the capital your looking to get. The thing is what are you willing to offer to the potential clients that makes you stand out that will help drive the business capital up. 

For screen printing. have a look around and see what the comp is offering. do they have set min over 24 pieces. well there you go you have a nich that can get you some business. offer the people the option to imprint oh 6 shirts at a reasonable cost and your going to see more work coming your way since alot of screen printers in my area wont touch anything smaller then 24 shirts while I'll do it. 

As for embroidery we have a simple 4 needle machine and we can do simple 1 offs to 100's on that machine and alot of the times the shirts have less then 4 colors in it. Now with that area see what the comp offers. do they say well it takes 7-10 days for 6 shirts. well offer less time for 6 shirts and since like I said you have a nich your going to see your capital raise up.

Either way both will raise the capital its just how much time your looking to invest into making the capital come into your shop.


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## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

I am really not worried about getting business I have 10 friends that are presidents of car clubs and i am the president of my own. With that said i thank you for your answers but am not looking at what competitors are doing. What i really want to know is if all the variables are good* What business would produce the most money when compared to each other! *Embroidery or screen printing? Or is it about the same with one not making more than the other? 

Example: Selling cars is more profitable than selling socks!
I can make more money selling 1 car than i can selling a pair of socks.


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## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

Basically a side to side comparison of the two money wise!
Say an order of 100 shirts 4 color on the front
compared to 100 hats 4 color on the front
which one will yield a higher profit? Or is it about the same? thanks


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## Screenanator (Feb 14, 2007)

I own a large screen print and embroidery business in Central Calif.....screen printing has a higher profit margin because it's a faster process therefore you can do more pieces quicker. BUT...embroidery supplies are really cheap....it's just that a full color back in screen print can be done in minutes....where as on an embroidery machine that same sized logo can take 4-6 hours of machine time.....in 4-6 hours we can knock out 250+ T-shirts...and only do 1 jacket back on a 22,000.00 single head machine.....so...what do think is a higher profit?


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## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

Thanks for the brake down Screenanator, much appreciated!


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

Screenanator said:


> I own a large screen print and embroidery business in Central Calif.....screen printing has a higher profit margin because it's a faster process therefore you can do more pieces quicker. BUT...embroidery supplies are really cheap....?


Embroidery is sure expensive here...

Just wondering how much is the cost of your screen printing and embroidery equipment and how you amortized the cost? TIA


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## drdoct (Jul 26, 2011)

Screenator hit the nail on the head.

I'm a small everything business. I started with a one head embroidery machine (used only 4k invested). Actually I started with a sewing machine/embroidery combo, but the single head was the first 'real' embroidery machine. I did that exclusively for over a year. I added heat pressing 10 months ago. Added Vinyl cutting and screen printing 5 months ago.

The T-shirt business has spoiled me. I can do one order for 30 shirts and make more than I do in a month of embroidery. I never could get to a point where I could sell my own garments with the embroidery because the polo shirts always go on sale and people would rather pay $5 for the polo and then $5 for the embroidery than $10 for both together. But then you have landsend giving away embroidery for a penny and it's hard to keep up. Add in machine problems and thread breaks and I wonder why I even maintain part of the embroidery business. 

If deciding on which business to get into I would really take a pause to make sure you're getting into the right business with either one. Are you a good graphic artist and good with the vectoring programs? Do you have lots of room? Don't mind working in a hot environment with ink that can get on everything if you aren't careful? Can you deal with people who don't know what they want but expect you to pull off some miracle of an awesome shirt? Neither way is incredibly easy honestly. Screen printing does have a significant investment too, but it's more in costly ink and material. I'd say you'll spend the same amount by the time you purchase everything you need. If you are going the embroidery route I suggest purchasing a good used machine that's a minimum of 6 heads.


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## league33 (Jun 30, 2012)

I have an embroidery studio with a heat press and cutter. Although my embroidery machines (2 machines, 3 heads) were expensive (Tajima), I have always made a good profit averaging about 40% per job, which is my goal. I am not the cheapest nor the most expensive in my area. I don't advertise and 90 percent is word of mouth. I am fortunate in the area I live and my customer base is upper middle class. I work with several private schools and price is rarely an issue. I like my shop to run at $60/per hour, which for most jobs is not a problem. 

I have several customers that I do monogramming for and I charge them $10 per shirt for a cuff monogram. Usually they bring in 4-6 shirts. Love the $40-60 per half hour stuff. 

There are times I wish I screen printed. But I have a company I sub out my screening to and they do a great job and their pricing allows me to be competitive so I make something on the turn. I always make at least $50.00, but usually it is $100 on a screen job or I won't do it. 

I think your decision depends on where you think your business is going to come from and what that business will be made up of. Budget, space, learning curve and the amount of time you are devoting to this new venture should be considered. What is your plan for the future? If you choose one over the other, who in your area can you sub out to for the method you are not able to do in house. Which interests you the most? How much graphic background do you have? That is something that is more criticall for screen printing than for embroidery. 

Good luck to you.


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## Redeemed1 (Dec 14, 2010)

Thanks for all the helpful information!


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