# What is the best embroidery machine



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

I would like to know what is the very best equipment for a home run embroidery business for hats
if anyone can recommend a dependable manufacturer 
please tell me 
thanks 
Paul


----------



## charles95405 (Feb 1, 2007)

There are some relatively inexpensive home embroidery machines...but I am not sure they have hat hoops available. I know that the Brother 620, I think, is a a six needle, single head unit...that you can buy a cap hoop for...that machine is 2-3 years old or more..will cost 5K or so and a hat hoop will be about another $400 or so...It is not a cheap entry at all. So I guess the best machine depends on your budget....I think the newest Brother/Babylock is about 10K new...


----------



## Riph (Jan 11, 2011)

Depends on how much space and how much money you have. Everything listed here has hat capability.

Brother's line fits nicely in small spaces. The PR-650e or PR-1000e are their top of the line machines in 6 and 10 needle configurations. They have user controls are that are far more feature rich than any commercial machine. PR-1000e has a built in camera and scanning ability. $8-13K depending on the package you choose.

If you can fit a slightly larger machine in your home, then the Tajima Neo Plus and the Barudan Elite Pro II are probably the top of the line small commercial machines. User interfaces are not quite as spiffy as the Brothers, but they sew faster, and time is money. $15-20k+ depending on the package. Also, digitizing software for these is a big variable, look into that to decide how much digitizing you will do and how much you want to spend.

Good Luck!

PS - I have a brother PR-1000. If I had space for it, I'd buy a Barudan. Not that I am unhappy with the Brother, but the speed of a commercial machine is very very nice. On the other hand, the learning curve with the Brother is probably easier.


----------



## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

Tajimia is the one everyone copies.


----------



## RickyJ702 (Jul 23, 2012)

i also have a pr-1000 and love that it only takes 1 person to transport. the camera is a plus also to "snowman" target stitches.


----------



## Posylane (Mar 3, 2011)

There is no 'best' machine. There are several good brands, and machines better at one thing over another. If you are exclusively doing hats, you should look at Melco. From what I have seen their hat hoop is really good.


----------



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

thanks i got a lot of response from a singerxl,baby lock ,brotherult,husgvarna se, tajima,and barudanamerica ,will got to melco web site 
thamnks again
Paul


----------



## sitzerlandwyo (Jan 20, 2011)

we have brother pr 1000's we love them. we do alot of names on bags blankets towels etc very nice to type name on screen and hit sewing. the only other machine we would buy would be the melco amaya xts. brothers do ok on hats the xtx is better for them but with a local brother dealer is great for us. its nice to have a 150lb machine verse a mutli head that weighs 1500 to 2500lbs if we had a bigger shop a multi head would be a option but for easy to use we love brother. we have 2 other shops in town one with a 6 head tajima and one with a 4 head not sure the brand. we are all on the same price per 1k stitch but because of machine size difference our quanity breaks are different up to 36 pieces we are all comparable but over 144 the six head shop has the advantage. on individual named items we win on price so just depends on what you are doing


----------



## sitzerlandwyo (Jan 20, 2011)

totally agree love the barudan but for a newbie brother will not let you screw up and hit a hoop or screw up the machine it may not be perfect but the brother is idiot proof and user friendly


----------



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

thank you for your information,I will check out the amaya xls as I am mainly doing hats ,this is a new to me and I am looking for the best most effiecient machine and easy to use.I will also check out the brother pr1000 .


----------



## nalob (Jun 23, 2011)

Just make sure you have local technicians in your area before you choose a machine. I live in Hawaii and have heard of people having to fly techs in to fix their machines. 

I went with Melco also and mainly focus on hats and although I can't compare the xts to any other machine(Melco xts is the only one I've used) I am very happy with the xts.


----------



## inobu (Dec 29, 2010)

Paul,

If anything get the best machine you can buy. There's some what of an "illusion" in running the business out of your home. 

Yes your overhead is lower but so is the consumers expectations on your pricing. You need to be as efficient as possible to keep your pricing competitive and be profitable at the same time. Its a numbers game.

In theory a 6 head unit should be the home machine and the single head in the store front. Single head units are good for one off (customer walkins) 

Also 

The learning curve for embroidering is steep as there are so many factors involved. Getting the machine is simple. Running it with the software and producing a marketable product is another story. 

I got the Melco XT to add to my capabilities but have not had time to get it going, its been 1.5 months already. 

Look into it before you jump.


----------



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

with the melco xts ,i have never done embroidery before but am more than willing to learn from anyone or course i could take. I would be willing to pay for the training, do you know of anyone or school?
THANKS 
Paul


----------



## nalob (Jun 23, 2011)

Melco usually includes 2 days onsite training when you buy from them (youll have to ask them about this though). Also they have online classes for using designshop for digitizing. That was also included when I bought my machine and software.


----------



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

thank you,i will check it out


----------



## inobu (Dec 29, 2010)

Paul,

Finding someone with the machine that you want is a good idea. That way you can see things first hand. 

Like I said before it is a numbers game with thresholds. 

Single head units are good for small or quick jobs. If the stitch counts are low you can run close to the pace of a multi head unit. 

When the sew out is equal to the hooping time you can keep the machine running and maximize production. You start losing when the sew out exceeds the hooping time. 

When you find yourself watching the sew out you are losing. The only way I learned that fact was watching the production run in another guys multi head shop. 


Make sure you get 2 or 3 more of the same hoops. 

Like I said there are a lot of variables. 
_

There was a lady trying to sell a few XT's in Georgia a few months ago. _


----------



## looksgoodonyou2 (Aug 21, 2012)

thank you i will try to find a shop in northern ontario that i can watch and learn


----------



## Posylane (Mar 3, 2011)

All of the big companies should be able to set you up to visit someone running their hardware. I did that when trying to decided between Melco, Baradun and Tajima. Be in a position to spend a few hours at each site if you can, and ask lots of questions that are relevant to your business. 

That is the big piece here - people answer the "what is best" question based on what is best for their own business, or what they know, but only you can answer what is best for you. Melco, Tajima and Baradun each make a quality product. Assuming each of them could support you equally, the quality of the hardware isn't the problem you need to get the answer too.


----------



## A1WHITES (Nov 19, 2011)

RickyJ702 said:


> i also have a pr-1000 and love that it only takes 1 person to transport. the camera is a plus also to "snowman" target stitches.


Ok I would like to know how you can transport with one person. I have a babylock enterprise that I need to take to shows I have not been able to move it my self . So I hope you can help me


----------



## RickyJ702 (Jul 23, 2012)

A1WHITES said:


> Ok I would like to know how you can transport with one person. I have a babylock enterprise that I need to take to shows I have not been able to move it my self . So I hope you can help me


after you fold in the screen and compress the top threading, grab from the back. there should be 2 handles. lift from the back and put it on a cart. all in 5 minutes ^^.


----------

