# Before you get into embroidery, know these things...



## binki

before you buy an embroidery machine, know these things.


1) your artwork needs to be digitized. this takes skill and practice. you need to work real hard with the auto digitizing software. also, you need to take classes with any embroidery software. plan on sending out some of your work for the harder stuff. you will be much happier

2) this is a piece of machinery, learn how to tune it and fix it. you will break things from time to time

3) buy spare parts before you need them. hook Assembly's, bobbin cases, etc. 

4) line up your vendors ahead of time. retail places will charge you $7 + tax for 1000 yards of thread. you can buy 5000 yards for $3-$5 online or through wholesalers

5) mark all your centerlines on your hoops. put a rubber band so it forms an X in the middle. Then mark your centerlines from top to bottom and side to side with a sharpie. 

6) buy some rolls of blue painters tape. we measure everything with this stuff. it creates straight lines and is easy to remove

7) most of the 'starter kit' you get is worthless. thread colors you will never use, backing you will never use, try to negotiate extra bobbin holders, hook assemblies, or even a hoopmaster system or fast frames with your purchase

8) stay away from the cheap Chinese made machines. stick with tajima, toyota, swf, melco, etc. they are the best

9) stay away from home machines, they are not rated for continuous use

10) get a 20amp line put it to plug your machine into

11) figure out your pricing before you start quoting. there is not a lot of overhead in emb but if you want to make more than a few bucks an hour you need to work out your stitches per minute and how long it takes to do a sewout. 

Have I left anything out? Stand by for more if I did....


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## vctradingcubao

Great tips, fred.


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## deChez

Great tips. One other thing I would add with regard to figuring out pricing before hand is this:

Think in terms of the entire sale cycle, not just materials used for production. In the beginning, some of us forget to factor in the time it takes to sell the item (helping the customer choose fonts, thread color, etc.), time it takes to mark and hoop, time it takes to clean up the item, etc.

I have a price per 1k stitches I use for goods that the customer buys from me, and a different price per 1k stitches that I use for customer supplied goods (with a $14 minimum, for up to 10k stitches on that one).


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## simonduquesnay

What about the Ricoma machine?


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## SunEmbroidery

Also don't be afraid to say NO to bad jobs. If it's too time consuming, risky (customer -owned item or you don't have the right equipment) or not profitable pass on the job and send your time marketing instead. Keep track of your profits on every job.


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## Buechee

I needed this a month ago. I just bought a Husqvarna Viking. It is a home machine, well it's a sewing machine that will do embro. I don't need a large commercail machine. I needed something I could make patches with and sew them on as well.


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## Deodand

Good post! Although our embroidery staff have been *****ing about Melco's machines lately. We have lots of repair bills on the one we have, but it might be a lemon.

You will also need to take into account the man hours needed for clipping the thread tails - this can really add up on a big order.


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## binki

I have heard a few complaints about the melco's and I don't know why. We almost bought one until we found out the distributor was in Texas and that was as close at they got. Our SWF supplier is right up the street and we like that much better. One thing about the Melco's, they were looking for a company to become a service rep out here. We may do something like that in the future.


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## BETO

don't forget HAPPY machines also.


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## binki

sorry, Happy is another one I have heard good things about


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## TDE

good info!


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## binki

12) Print out your maintenance schedule and stick to to or near your machine and check off each time you do it

13) use heat tape or blue tape near your needle bar and mark which needles are different from you standard. We use 75/11 ball points but when we put a sharp point or other type in I write the needle number on the tape. Then I know which ones are which. 

14) Don't stick your hand in the machine when it is running. 

15) If you machine can change colors mid stride, put several of the same color next to each other and do a color change on a thread break rather than rethreading. You will save time that way.

16) Always do a sewout on scrap material before you do the real thing. 

17) Plan on 5% spoilage and make sure you account for that in your pricing. If you spoil less then you are ahead of the game. 

18) A single head machine gets you into the biz but isn't enough to give you income to hire someone. 4-head and up is what you need to make some bank. just about everyone starts with a single head. dont worry, you will pay for it pretty quickly and be able to expand. never sell the single head, use it for sewouts and one-offs

8a) add happy machines to the good list.


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## Revolution99

wow. good info out here. im acutally looking at melco to purchase my first embroidery machine and printa for my screen printing. any info on printa or a better screen printer machine?


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## binki

19) if you are going to be near the machine when it is running, get earplugs.


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## BETO

20) Eyesglasses?


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## XYLisa

hey Fred earplugs are nice but you still have to listen for the phone! 
We have 2 6 head and 2 single head Happy's.....we love them, we've had melco and tajima and got rid of both.


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## BETO

Good choice Lisa i think tajima is good but i go for happy!.


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## jssans

how about *PATIENCE* 

Your gonna need plenty of that when things aren't sewing properly. Just calm down & check ur thread path, bobbin, & keep going down the list till you nail it down. Patience is in my top 5 things that makes my job much easier & productive.


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## jssans

XYLisa said:


> hey Fred earplugs are nice but you still have to listen for the phone!
> We have 2 6 head and 2 single head Happy's.....we love them, we've had melco and tajima and got rid of both.



Amen! I got rid of a melco, tajima, toyota & a brother. All *HAPPY* all the time.

I'm sad that HAPPY is discontinuing their industrial single head. I love those machines. I'll buy the used industrial single heads over the new single heads for sale.


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## BETO

Hello Josh i dont know how they gonna discontinuining because they just update the multiheads like the single with the new compacflash reading in the monitor or screen and beside i didnt hear notting from my friend that he's a distributor from HAPPY in the north minnesota. So maybe im wrong but i would cheack out latter and tell u guys. Robert.


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## jssans

Here is the replacement for the good old 1501. Local dist. told me to hold on to my old machines because they ain't gonna make them that good anymore unless I buy multi-heads. The good old single heads are gone due to harsh competition. Multi-heads are still solid gold.


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## BETO

I think and im sure is the same machine that me guys still sale it.


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## dolly-day-dream

Hello, im a noob and Ive just bought a Brother bsa-416. Ive just read this thread and think you may be able to help me.
I am nervous of threading the machine and dont want to mess up so does any one have a tip they can pass on.

Sorry if in the wrong thread

Ta Jan uk


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## binki

We still see paper tape machines out there with one needle and six spools with manual stops.


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## reginammp62

Any users out there use Futura Model machines by Singer? How's your experiences with it? I'm just beginning to use mine.
Any hints I should know about? Thanks in advance for any and all replies.
-regina


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## mb

Hello, im a noob and Ive just bought a Brother bsa-416. Ive just read this thread and think you may be able to help me.
I am nervous of threading the machine and dont want to mess up so does any one have a tip they can pass on.

Sorry if in the wrong thread

Ta Jan uk
 
Good Evening Ta Jan uk

In threading a Brothers Embroidery Machine, we have learned to Loop the Tension Disc, Breakage Pulley and the Tension Dial twice (2 times around each). Hope this helps.


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## binki

Rather than hijack this thread, why not start your own with a proper subject line? You will get better results.


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## Kurfuu Clothing

Thanks alot really great info


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## LUV DEM TIGERS

I started out with a 6 needle Babylock EMP-6 (the same as a Brother PR-600) and now have over 33 million stitches on it. We also now have a Tajima Neo-2 and it is a workhorse also. We do a lot of onesies for monogramming so single heads work great for me.


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## Adoratis

wee have ZSK machines, 5 machines 20 years old and 1 10 years old - the old ones are beter then newer. all the manufacturers doing mistakes some times, what i heard is that at this moment best combination (price and quality) its tajima.


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## DOGGTODD

what about the brother machines?


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## Adoratis

I dont know m8, didnt heard much about them


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## tfalk

DOGGTODD said:


> what about the brother machines?


I've got 2 Brother PR-600 single head 6 needle machines. Absolute work horses...


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## AndTees

I started with a Chinese machine (_Vital Link_ single head 12 thread) and have had good service with it.

When I thought I had made a mistake because sometimes sewn lettering looked less than perfect, I learned to get smarter about digitizing (or use a service).

As my skills there improved, I find this machine is fine.

For pricing, I figured a cost per hour on the machine that includes labor (burdened at about $14 per hour) cost of the machine (about $2.25 per hour). I divided that by 25 for about 25000 stitches per hour for a per 1000 amount, added 5 cents per thousand for supplies, and 10 cents per thousand for design services (this works with my model of low production runs). My *cost* is about $0.80.

Then I add O&P (@20%), Sales & Marketing (@10%) and Collections & Supervision (@ 5%) to my sewing and garment cost making my total cost of product 65%. For example, a $15.00 polo with a 5,000 stitch logo would retail at $28.92... which I round to conditions.

OK... I know that sounds a little convoluted but my retail sewing price is $1.23 per K and I get enough markup on the garment to make waste and profit.

This is the bottom take-no-less competitive price, you can normally add in some extra for most customers and remain competitive.


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## KleinsEMB

I've had a one-head Happy for 3 years now, and it NEVER has problems (the only problems was because of user error....hee hee, oops). What sold me on a Happy was the incredible people at TexMac in North Carolina (they have sales reps for different regions of the country). They make you feel like family, not just a customer. All machines are mostly top notch, but also look at customer service. You may save a couple thousand bucks buying a used machine or from a discount supplier, but will you have lifetime free tech support? Where will those folks be when you get yourself into a pickle?


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## Caseys Cycles

I'm thinking of adding embroidery to my heat transfer business, where do you guys buy your embroidery machines and what kind of price are we talking for a good start up ebroidery machine?


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## Buechee

I just came back to this post. Just as good as it was over a year ago. And now i have a 6 needle brother. I hope to have a Melco soon.


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## HRClothes

What about the Brand Ricoma? The guy I talked to seemed really helpful and said he would bring it up and show me how to use it himself before he left. Anything I should know about the brand?


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## tfalk

Don't know anything about the Ricoma's, sorry!

It's nice that they will show you how to use the machine. The problem usually is after they leave and the machine acts up, then what do you do? Do you have someone in the area who can service the machine or talk you through resolving problems? If not, understand what you may be getting yourself into...

We bought our 2 Brothers from a local shop who also services them. They also offer training classes and can generally walk you through whatever problem you are having. Sometimes internet searches only go so far and you really need to talk to someone who has had a similar problem and they can walk you through how to resolve it.


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## HRClothes

What if your getting one to do your own clothing line stuff and its easy stuff, should I get a class right away on the Digitizing software? Its mostly gonna be our stuff and some friends who want stuff done! cause were gonna buy a used machine from Ricoma!


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## dan-ann

Learn your machine before you get into Digitizing. There are a lot of things to learn before you turn out lovely embroidery no matter what kind of machine you buy.

Digitizing takes a long time to learn to do well


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## ButterFlyEmb

tfalk said:


> Don't know anything about the Ricoma's, sorry!
> 
> It's nice that they will show you how to use the machine. The problem usually is after they leave and the machine acts up, then what do you do? Do you have someone in the area who can service the machine or talk you through resolving problems? If not, understand what you may be getting yourself into...
> 
> We bought our 2 Brothers from a local shop who also services them. They also offer training classes and can generally walk you through whatever problem you are having. Sometimes internet searches only go so far and you really need to talk to someone who has had a similar problem and they can walk you through how to resolve it.


If you run into problems you can contact us.

We do not specialize in the Ricoma machines but we do get them in our shop every once and a while for repairs. We would not mind offering support if requested. We also have access to parts.

Our website is http://www.ButterFlyEmb.com

Email: sales AT butterflyemb DOT com


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## edward1210

ButterFlyEmb said:


> If you run into problems you can contact us.
> 
> We do not specialize in the Ricoma machines but we do get them in our shop every once and a while for repairs. We would not mind offering support if requested. We also have access to parts.
> 
> Our website is http://www.ButterFlyEmb.com
> 
> Email: sales AT butterflyemb DOT com


 wow!!!!!!!!!Great info, great, I bought a one head happy machine from second hand, machine work fine, I brough to my house the tech to show me the basic, I did not know anything abou, still Idon't know much, I was having problem with the tension, I follow every tip I found to fix it, I could not get it fix it, I tried for a month or more to get the tech back to my house and today is the day, that I can get him to come here and help me, not free, but it look like when you don't buy the machine from a dealer, is not easy to get help from them, I sent email, tried to get a supervisor on the phone and not luck!!!!!!!!!!


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## JAF

Tension is a balance between the top thread and the bobbin. At times it can be a very delicate adjustment and it takes time to learn what knobs to turn. Hang in there, I'm sure will learn what knobs need to be turned and when they need adjustment.


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## Buechee

Yes it does take time. Embroidery is truly an art form.


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## binki

It has been a few years since I wrote this and I can say I still learn something with every embrodery job. I digitize nearly all of my jobs myself, only 3 being sent out since we started and I can say it is a real amount of work to get stuff out the door. 

Material, thread, bobbin, backing, topping, hooping, and digitizing all come into play and can make or break your job.


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## Ace Money

great thread!


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## binki

Holy crap, we just had a race team sponsor send us a bitmap and we digitized it overnight and sewed it on a bunch of shirts the next morning for his sponsor polos and next up is their crew shirts.


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## vctradingcubao

you sound happy binki, 
good to know that your business is doing well.


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## binki

Yuppers, we are running like crazy. We have a number of schools, a few ball teams, an entire league, a few national companies and a bunch of local ones in addition to all the walkins. We also have several law enforcement agencies and are picking up more.


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## myfinishingtouch

What do you do for the law enforcement agencies? How did you get in with them?
Thanks,
Dave


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## sharlynn

I have owned a Brother PR600II for almost 4 years. It has never missed a beat. Six needle ,single head, sometimes I think of upgrading ......to a second PR. 
I reckon two machines are better than one with two heads(does that make sence?) If one goes down, the other still chuggs away. Repairs are quite easy too. If in doubt, check out the PR600 Forum. cheers Ed


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## dan-ann

I have two pr 600's the very first models and pushing 6 years. Every once in a while I get the itch for more needles and then tell myself not to be crazy. The two I have just keep running and I have a great service person here in town. The new model is very tempting except for the price


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## binki

myfinishingtouch said:


> What do you do for the law enforcement agencies? How did you get in with them?
> Thanks,
> Dave


Guy walks in, is a detective in a a local agency and we do a couple of hats and shirts for him. We scan the badge in and notice it looks like the LAPD badge and modify to match. 

Then he refers us to another agency and bingo, we have them. As Curly Howard would say, 'I'm a victum of cercowmstance'


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## vctradingcubao

"word of mouth" is really the best...


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## Ruby MHarvey

This is a great post I am wondering if I am charging enough for my embroidery shirts. I charge bascially $22.00 is that reasonable.


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## SunEmbroidery

That's difficult to answer without knowing the style, quantity and stitch count.


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## Ruby MHarvey

the shirts are polo style and I use pulse software it will tell you the price if you put in the price you want to charge per stitch. I was just wonder if I was in range.


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## lizziemaxine

Ruby MHarvey said:


> the shirts are polo style and I use pulse software it will tell you the price if you put in the price you want to charge per stitch. I was just wonder if I was in range.


What you charge should be based on how much time it takes you to do the work rather than the stitch count - hooping, stitching, trimming all take your time. Plus you need to factor in the cost of your backing, thread, utilities, etc. 
Generally, I double the price of the item (polo cost me $10 then I charge $20) and add in the cost of embroidery with a minimum of $6 but typically will be $10-15 for left chest.


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## tfalk

sharlynn said:


> Isometimes I think of upgrading ......to a second PR.


Exactly what we did.... double the capacity and you aren't out of business if one machine goes down...

I may end up selling my second PR600 only because we bought an SWF 15 needle with the larger sewing field. Although I have to admit, that PR1000 looks tempting with the 10 needles... I just wish the sewing field was larger.


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## Ruby MHarvey

Thanks Jane, I was thinking of contacting you since you were closer to this area. I have one lady that I think is going to be difficult maybe I shouldn't even deal with her. I was dealing with someone else in that building and she wanted to get some quotes and prices. The deal is she want to try on shirt of different styles, polo, t's and denim, I was leary about sending that many shirts to her, but I did, then she want to try on one of the polos in the ladies style, I don't have one on hand and would have to order it just for her. I don't think I am even going to do that. She try the mens style, I have never had anyone that want to try on every style. I really don't care if I don't get her business, she said they want embrodery and screenprint. I sent her logo off to be digitized she wants me to do one she for her now as a sample shirt. I would still have to order that one shirt and that is crazy to me.


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## edward1210

Ruby MHarvey said:


> Thanks Jane, I was thinking of contacting you since you were closer to this area. I have one lady that I think is going to be difficult maybe I shouldn't even deal with her. I was dealing with someone else in that building and she wanted to get some quotes and prices. The deal is she want to try on shirt of different styles, polo, t's and denim, I was leary about sending that many shirts to her, but I did, then she want to try on one of the polos in the ladies style, I don't have one on hand and would have to order it just for her. I don't think I am even going to do that. She try the mens style, I have never had anyone that want to try on every style. I really don't care if I don't get her business, she said they want embrodery and screenprint. I sent her logo off to be digitized she wants me to do one she for her now as a sample shirt. I would still have to order that one shirt and that is crazy to me.


Hi, I'm new on this business too, but don't give any sample free, just charge, she want one, than she need to pay.
I have some one like that before, she asked for sample, this was for screen printing(heat transfer) I made the mistake to order my transfer, guest what this person disapear, than she called me and told me oh we got the tshirt from someone else.


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## Red Fox

Buechee said:


> I needed this a month ago. I just bought a Husqvarna Viking. It is a home machine, well it's a sewing machine that will do embro. I don't need a large commercail machine. I needed something I could make patches with and sew them on as well.


 
We didnt plan on doing Commercial Embroidery and we started with a Viking Designer 1, Later moved to a Babylock BMP6, out grew that in 6 months and now have 2 Tajima's. 

The speed of a machines got faster each step up.


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## Ruby MHarvey

Thanks, but I don't order my transfer until the order is placed with me. She just wants me to order the ladies style shirts for her, she is blessed that the person that orders from me every year place an order yesterday and now I can purchase the shirts for her other than that she would not get them unless she was willing to pay shipping charges


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## binki

Embroidery is a premium product. We charge $30 min for polo's with emb unless we are doing more than 24 then we knock them down a bit but $25 is about the lowest. The price if the shirt does not come into play until it has a $12 wholesale cost. Then we start looking at that.


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## Ruby MHarvey

Thanks I usually charge $22.00 for polo, and you are right it is a premium product very time consuming. I just got a job for 64 and I try to get a good brand, since I have been doing their shirts for three or more years I give them a big break this year they added over 150 screenprint shirts, so I know I can't charge $22.00 dollars.Wish I could thought.


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## Red Fox

We are a northern rural area and we run most form $22 to $25 for Embroidery, $2.00 up charge normally for extended sizes. This also for Polo's that wholesale less than $12.00. 

In our area $30+ people would not pay, they would most likely do nothing.


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## Ruby MHarvey

Right there are some people that will not pay, sometime I have people that think I am to high, I let them go else where. I told myself when people want something from the mall or walmart wherever they shop they pay what is on the tag if they want it.


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## edward1210

binki said:


> Embroidery is a premium product. We charge $30 min for polo's with emb unless we are doing more than 24 then we knock them down a bit but $25 is about the lowest. The price if the shirt does not come into play until it has a $12 wholesale cost. Then we start looking at that.


 Which Brand do you use?


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## Ruby MHarvey

I have been using baw pique and they hold there color well. My daughters bowling shirt is three years old it it maroon and it has not faded and they were bowling every week so the shirt has been was many many times.


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## binki

edward1210 said:


> Which Brand do you use?


Whatever the customer wants. We buy from Sanmar, TSC, Tri Mountain and others.


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## Ruby MHarvey

So, you show them all the catalogs and let them choose? Some of them just ask for polo style shirts.


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## edward1210

Ruby MHarvey said:


> So, you show them all the catalogs and let them choose? Some of them just ask for polo style shirts.


 So when they choose, what they choose how you come out with the price?
You double the price of the polo? plus stitch?


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## lizziemaxine

Ruby MHarvey said:


> So, you show them all the catalogs and let them choose? Some of them just ask for polo style shirts.


I don't show my customers any catalogs. I ask them questions to determine what they want/need. Then I create a sell sheet with pictures, info and pricing. I give them options on styles, fabric and pricing. 
I have found that when I give a customer a catalog they become overwhelmed with the choices and can never make a decision.
Get familiar with select suppliers such as SanMar, Blue Generation and TriMountain or distributors like Broder Bros. or S&S. They all have great marketing tools that will help you create your sell sheets.


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## binki

We have a showroom with different styles. Jerseyknit, Pique, Pima, Etc. Normally we look for their budget first and then suggest a shirt. Many of them already know what they want though. 

We do let them look at a catalog. We don't have a standard price like cost doubled + stitch. It depends on the garment, embroidery, quantity and timeframe needed.

If you want an easy way to price then charge the retail price of the garment plus digitizing plus a per 1K stitch count. 

We charge $5 for lettering and $8 for logos up to 4 inches square no matter what the stitch count and no digitizing fees. If we don't meet our minimum price for polos then we just charge the minimum. 

We know our closest competitor charges $17 for 'setup' for lettering and $8 per copy. 

We give quantity discounts on the finished product of 5 to 15 % for every two to three dozen ordered up to about 72 and then we are pretty flat on the price since taking any more off would leave us with nothing for profit.


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## edward1210

binki said:


> We have a showroom with different styles. Jerseyknit, Pique, Pima, Etc. Normally we look for their budget first and then suggest a shirt. Many of them already know what they want though.
> 
> We do let them look at a catalog. We don't have a standard price like cost doubled + stitch. It depends on the garment, embroidery, quantity and timeframe needed.
> 
> If you want an easy way to price then charge the retail price of the garment plus digitizing plus a per 1K stitch count.
> Thank you, great info
> We charge $5 for lettering and $8 for logos up to 4 inches square no matter what the stitch count and no digitizing fees. If we don't meet our minimum price for polos then we just charge the minimum.
> 
> We know our closest competitor charges $17 for 'setup' for lettering and $8 per copy.
> 
> We give quantity discounts on the finished product of 5 to 15 % for every two to three dozen ordered up to about 72 and then we are pretty flat on the price since taking any more off would leave us with nothing for profit.


 Thank you, great info, yes I been selling the Gildan, with small logo for 13.50,


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## SunEmbroidery

I talk to them about what their needs are (fabric preference, color, quantity, who and where the items will be worn, need for extended sizes, budget) and problems they may have had in the past (fading, stretching, not true size). I also consider the climate (are they located in Florida or Michigan), how long the items are expected to last (worn by seasonal help or tenured employees) and the type of company (high tech sales people or factory workers). Then I email links and pricing for three or four style possibilities.


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## GraphicDisorder

Good post, a lot of people think you just buy a machine and start working. They dont understand you have to digitize and in a lot of cases even create artwork before digitizing. 

We use SWF machines. We love to death our single head, it never stops, and is a serious work horse. Our 2 head is a bit more flakey but gets the job done almost as well. Currently looking at 4 heads. For the price jump from SWF to Tajima I cant seem to bring myself to buy one of those even though often thats what people say are the best machines. I wouldn't own a Melco, heard too many stories. The brother machines (the pr600) are good but they have to many draw backs like smaller sewing field, less needles, and that kinda makes that a hoobiest machines in my eyes.


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## clk5675

Great tips thank you


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## kylerogers

When you do an embroidery in different colors and you have all those lines of thread crisscrossing from one section to another section of the same color. Is there special tools you get to chop all those off?


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## JAF

kylerogers said:


> When you do an embroidery in different colors and you have all those lines of thread crisscrossing from one section to another section of the same color. Is there special tools you get to chop all those off?


I use small blade scissors to hand trim. The other option is to use machine trims.


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## [email protected]

Any advice on buying a used machine? What should I watch out for??? I know nothing about embroidery, but I'm looking for a machine to try my hand at it.


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## JAF

Cindi,
Are you looking for a commercial machine or a home machine?
A few good questions are:
When was that last time the machine was serviced? Can they give you a bill/receipt to see what was done? 
Look at the hook area, is it full of lint? If it is, chances are they were not taking care of the machine. 
Will they give you a reasonable amout of free training?
What ever the brand...is there a service tech in your area or at least within a reasonable distance?
Bring a design with you, sew it out on the machine, how is the quality?


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## [email protected]

I'm looking for a commercial machine. Thank you for the help.


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## VLCUSTOMS

I want to add embroidery to my business i would like to know what is the best starter machine to get! I really don't to get something i would have to up grade soon. I find when i buy equipment i grow out of it fast and have old equipment in my shop.


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## lizziemaxine

VLCUSTOMS said:


> I want to add embroidery to my business i would like to know what is the best starter machine to get! I really don't to get something i would have to up grade soon. I find when i buy equipment i grow out of it fast and have old equipment in my shop.


Your best bet is to attend a tradeshow such as Imprinted Sportwear Show. Most of the major machine companies will exhibit their equipment. You can see the machines in action and ask all the questions you want.


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## VLCUSTOMS

I went to the ISS in Rhode island two years ago will probly go to the one in atlanta in September. I just wanted what would the easiest, less expensive and best brand to get?


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## binki

wow, three years since i wrote this, how time flies. well, if you want a beginner machine they are cost about the same. $7K on the low end and $12K or more on the high end for a single head machine. contact your distributors and ask for refurb units. they get repos and buybacks/tradeins all the time. you will still pay quite a bit for them but they will have gone over them pretty well and you will still get training and probably software with them. 

you can also call the finance companies like beacon and see if they have any repos or recommendations. 

sometimes you can find units on craigslist or ebay but you are on your own if you buy like that. 

if you are just getting into the business then you really want to get the training with the machine. stick with tajima, swf, melco, etc. we selected swf because they had a local service office. otherwise they are all pretty much the same.


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## gabenick2

Great Thread. 

I am looking into purchasing an embroider machine, I have had requests for embroider but am nervous to take the plunge. 

I am currently doing vinyl and rhinestones (4 years, paid itself off in one month) and thinking about adding more options. I have looked into the Tajima and would start with the Neo single head. I want a machine that I can grow with.

Any regrets getting into embroidery business? How long did it take to make you money back from your purchase of your machine

I know this will not be overnight success and will take time to learn the business

TIA


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## binki

No regrets in embroidery. It took us a while to pay back the single head because we worked from home. Now that we have a retail shop we paid for the 4 head in less than 6 months.


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## gabenick2

That's great!!

I also will be working from home. We are involved with baseball and the demand seems to be "puff".


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## binki

Yeah, you can charge extra for puff. You need to digitize for it but it isn't that hard to do. Get a heat gun from Harbor Freight and once you remove the excess puff you heat the remaining to smooth it out. Works great. 

Baseball is also pretty good. They all want the high end stuff so you make more $ per unit. 

Good luck with that. Remember, Embroidery is a premium product and you can mix in your rhinestones with it and super-size your sales.


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## Ruby MHarvey

I am alos interested in doing puff I have some of the foam that you use, but didn't know you have to digitize to it, how do I do that?
thanks in advance I use pulse software I have a tajima.


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## binki

Double the density of the stitching, make sure you have a running or outline in your stabilizing stitch that will cut the puff around your design and make sure you have capped the ends of any design elements. There are some videos of this on youtube.


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## binki

for puff try this-> digitizing for puff embroidery - YouTube


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## Ruby MHarvey

Thank you so much for the link I will look at it right now.


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## binki

Here we are 8 years and 4 months later still going strong. Our main embroidery products are motorcycle/ car clubs and varsity jackets. Our emb is our biggest product and it runs as much as we want it to. 

Here are a few more tips:

Don't be afraid to outsource digitzing for your harder projects. We have had our designs featured in Stitches Magazine via our digitizer Wicket Stitch of the East. US based and very good at what they do. When we don't have time or just can't do it we turn to them. 

Tackle Twill is a money maker. If you can do sports uniforms with TT then do it. If you are close to a college town then get a Greek license and do the Frats. These are high profit products. 

Varsity or Letterman jackets also make some bank. Figure on making over $200 on each jacket. Make sure you also get a professional serger to put the patches on. You can do it with your embroidery machine but it will take longer. Also, if you start doing a lot of LJ's then consider a Chenille machine, otherwise contract it out. We use Chenille Appeal, also based in the US. (Can you tell we support US based Biz?)

Keep extra hooks and bobbins on hand. You never know when you will need to replace one. 

Consider expanding your multi head shop. Chaining single heads is too expensive. Three compact singles cost as much as a full size 4 head. Why lose 25% production?

If you are getting into the game you can't make much money or any with a single head. If you do get one, get a full size, not a compact. You can run longer with it before you need a multi head. If you go multi, go, 4 or larger. Don't worry, if you are busy with your single head you will fill the 4 head in a hurry. Trust me, it happened to us. 

When you buy that multi head, allocate another 10% of the purchase price for supplies. A 1504 takes 60 spools of thread. Start buying by the dozen. You can get a discount that way. 

If you want to do patches consider a Merrow machine. It will take up to 12 weeks to get but it will be worth it to finish your patches. This is a feisty machine, go to Merrow and get the training. You will put out a superior product when you do this. 

One last thing, if you are like us and do more than one thing at a time, get a baby monitor and point the camera at your machine. This allows us to do more than one thing at a time. We know when the machine stops (it is out of sound range for us) and we can monitor the progress. 

Anything else?


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## susy

Great tips!! Very useful, thanks for sharing!!


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## 34Ford

binki said:


> Here are a few more tips:
> 
> 
> If you are getting into the game you can't make much money or any with a single head. If you do get one, get a full size, not a compact. You can run longer with it before you need a multi head. .
> 
> 
> 
> Anything else?



So I am considering a used Happy HCD-1501 or a new HCD2-1501 for a starter machine.
In two weeks is the NBM show in Charlotte and I am planning on talking to TexMac.

Since everyone says you cannot make any money with a single head, I guess it is best to NOT buy a new machine cause Im looking at 15k out of pocket.


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## binki

Our first year we sourced all of our work. Then we started with a single head compact. We would have been better served with a full size. 

The machine paid for itself but running 500 hats on it was painful. If you are just starting out then you can do the single head but do it with a plan to move up to a multi head asap. 

You need the work for the machine. If you don't already have that then a multihead will have a lot of idle time.

If you can build your biz with sourcing your work, then you can jump to a 4 or 6 head when you have the volume to support it.


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## 34Ford

So if you sourced your work in the beginning, you must have already had customers buying some type of shirts from you, screen printing or other and several of them asked if you would do embroidery.

Really makes me think a new 15k machine is something I should not do.

I have seen used 15 needle Happys go for as little as 5k and I miss them. Twice during my feeling out the seller they sold the machines.


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## pjmom60

Binki, what do you use to cut your tackle twill? We had an Ioline, but sold it to make room for equipment that we would use more, but have been wondering how we would cut the tackle twill without it. (Hindsight is a bummer!)


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## binki

34Ford said:


> So if you sourced your work in the beginning, you must have already had customers buying some type of shirts from you, screen printing or other and several of them asked if you would do embroidery.
> 
> Really makes me think a new 15k machine is something I should not do.
> 
> I have seen used 15 needle Happys go for as little as 5k and I miss them. Twice during my feeling out the seller they sold the machines.


Very long story short:
We had a kid, put her in Girl Scouts, Job's Daughters and were involved with the PTA so we had all the connections for doing promotional product work. 

We are doing web work for a poker website and someone wants promo products from the site. I contact the owner of the site and let him know I could do them. 

Bada-Bing, Bada-Boom we have a business. We source everything via our previous vendors. 

A year later we go to NBM and start buying equipment. 

A few years later we open a retail storefront.

And here we are, working all day and night with enough backlog for 4 months. 

Right now we have a 4 head (sold the single head after 7 years), a Versacamm, a Graphtec, a small dyesub printer and some other misc equipment. 

My bigger point is once you start wither EMB it is easy to grow if you get the business. Having a storefront makes it easy, not having one makes you do cold calling. 

Good luck.


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## binki

pjmom60 said:


> Binki, what do you use to cut your tackle twill? We had an Ioline, but sold it to make room for equipment that we would use more, but have been wondering how we would cut the tackle twill without it. (Hindsight is a bummer!)



Well, we tried cutting on the Graphtec but I don't like the results. In a pinch we sew an outline and use scissors. For all others we use Dalco or Twill USA. 

I would love to buy a laser just for twill.  but not ready for $25K for one.


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