# New to embroidery. I want to make custom hats. What is the best machine for this?



## 2ndNatureInk (Aug 7, 2013)

Hi, I run a small screen printing business out of my home. I am looking to expand and eventually open my business in a actual shop. My next plan is to start doing custom embroidery. I mainly want to focus on making custom high end hats. Streetwear/skate/hip hop type stuff. I have been reading quite about embroidery machines lately. I need answers from someone with experience in this area. What is a good machine that can sew onto a large area of the hat, and that can also properly do raised/3d embroidery? Which machine is currently the industry standard for this? I hear a lot of good stuff about Tajima machines. To start out I'm interested in a 2 head machine. Thanks


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## Stitches (Oct 2, 2006)

Any commercial machine can do what you are looking for. The three top brands that most people use are Tajima, Barudan, or SWF. There may be a little sticker shock with these machines but you get what you pay for. If you have to finance it the do it. When we started our business we bought a brand new 4 head 15 color Tajima. We got a loan and let it pay for itself. We have had no regrets. Customer service is another important factor to look at when you are purchasing an embroidery machine. Take your time and do your homework.


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## 2ndNatureInk (Aug 7, 2013)

Thanks for the reply. How is the customer support with Tajima in your opinion? Do you do raised embroidery on flatbill hats, snapbacks and fitted's? If so, was there a steep learning curve? Also, how hard is it to learn to digitize artwork for embroidery. I already have experience with Adobe programs (photoshop, Illustrator) and I have experience with doing color separations for screen printing, just curious how much different digitizing is?


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## oldstunt (Mar 22, 2008)

Also take a look at zsk machines. We have been running them for 10 years now great machines German made. we started with a single head and added 2 two head machines. These are work horse machines top quality.


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## Printerguy1 (Feb 19, 2014)

I like brother.


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## Peregrine (Feb 5, 2011)

Barudan - support is great. Equipment runs. I've got (2) 6 head 15 needles that have been used hard since 1999 and 2000. They haven't let me down yet.


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## drdoct (Jul 26, 2011)

not the machine i have. bas416 brother. It's awful at hats. The bobbin part sticks out too much and the presser foot is angled so it just doesn't work well for anything over 1.5" tall. I do believe the pr650 series is a good one though.


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## DKgrafix (Aug 13, 2008)

Most of the commercial machines can do the caps. How good, that is the question.
Aside from a machine, for a cap, you need to have a good digitizer. Do not do your own designs until you learn more. Later, you will not have time so you will keep using digitizer 

I would stick with Tajima, Barudan and ............. SWF and maybe ZSK (Not much experience with them, but they look like a good machine) It is a German built machine, so it should be good.

Another thing to consider, who has the closest techs to you. Do not buy Tajima if your closest tech is 8 hours away and you have a SWF tech an hour away. They can all do the job, but they might be certified in a specific machines only.

I have Tajima Neo and Toyota 9000. Both machines do well on caps. (they are pretty much the same machines)


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## Panama Red (Jan 15, 2013)

I have Brother, Tajima and Barudan machines in my shop and my Barudan is my go-to machine for hats. Their hooping system is faster than Tajima and the embroidery quality is always great.

Having said that, you will need to check out the machine support for your area. If you have a Tajima dealer/technician in your city but the Barudan guy is hundreds of miles away, your repairs could take more time and money to get someone in from out of town.


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## binki (Jul 16, 2006)

A single head will get you into the game but you can't make any money with it. You need a 4 head or bigger. If you get a single hard get the full size, not the compact. 

Good luck. It is a great addition to screen printing.


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## skits (Jun 24, 2009)

We have SWF & Barudan. There is no comparison..... we did a lot of research and went for barudan 12 head. Not a single day have I regretted..... there are many threads here which will advice you on going for barudan. It may be expensive but you have peace of mind for next 10 yrs.


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## ajspin (Apr 10, 2008)

Digitizing is a whole different game for embroidery. You should plan on sending out your designs for digitizing for a while - It was a good year till I felt comfortable doing my own, and that was with a very good digitizing program - after 10 years I still send them out from time to time. If you do not get a decent digitizing program with your machine - a good one canst you anywhere from 5 - 10 Thousand dollars and up.


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## skits (Jun 24, 2009)

Ajspin is right....digitizing is a totally different ball game....don't even bother getting into it right now. Master the embroidery first....


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## terryESC (Feb 25, 2014)

Without a doubt, the best stitch formation is by Barudan. One thing to consider is that any embroidery machine will have a difficult, if not impossible, time doing any embroidery that is taller than 2.5" high on any hat.

I agree with getting a good digitizer. When we used to train a digitizer, we would have them run an embroidery machine for at least 6 months before they even started learning to digitize. I like to say "You pay for a good pattern one time. You pay for a bad pattern every time you run it!"


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