# What commercial machine do you use or recommend and why?



## saarius (Jul 16, 2015)

My family and I are seriously considering purchasing a commercial embroidery machine with the concentrations being on shirts and hats, but we are completely new to this and are looking at what machine to purchase. What recommendations to you have for us and why? We have looked at Avance' and SWF but have read some issues when there are problems with the machine about getting them serviced in a timely manner. Have read some of the software for some of the others is hard to learn. I need to get the most bang for my buck but also know that the company we purchase from has a good record. Any help and guidance would be appreciated.


----------



## ParrotPrinting (Feb 23, 2015)

My wife and I have a Babylok 6 head embroidery machine and babyloks "Pallet" software and it's been doing great


----------



## tfalk (Apr 3, 2008)

ParrotPrinting said:


> My wife and I have a Babylok 6 head embroidery machine and babyloks "Pallet" software and it's been doing great


Did you mean to say a 6 needle instead of a 6 head?

To the OP, I haven't seen much about the Avance' other than SWF seems to be carrying them after Sunstar started selling machines themselves. I have an SWF, it's been a bit quirky at times but otherwise a decent machine. We also have a brother 6 needle and 2 brother 10 needles, they are pretty bullet proof machines. Not as fast and not as large a sewing field as the larger commercial machines but they do the job and you are not locked into have a technician come to you for repairs. They are small enough you can put them in the car and take them anywhere.

If you are truely locked into buying a commercial machine, highly suggest you look at either Barudan or Tajima, they are pretty much the gold standard in machines.


----------



## purplecheese (May 22, 2011)

tfalk said:


> If you are truely locked into buying a commercial machine, highly suggest you look at either Barudan or Tajima, they are pretty much the gold standard in machines.


This sums it up nicely. Those two manufacturers pretty much set the standards for embroidery machinery. SWF has been having issues with it's dealer network from what I've seen so I might be a bit leery of buying that brand. 

I have also heard Happy machines are quite good for the bang for buck. You might also consider ZSK, but make sure you have a dealer near for service as they are German machines and can be temperamental to work on.

Any Chinese brand, stay away from. Once dealers start getting too many issues or complaints about a brand they either rebrand the machine or buy a different manufacturer.


----------



## ccUtah (Mar 23, 2014)

Barudan is the best period. My wife just stitched out a Irish dance dress with a million stitches and only had 2 threads not cut. Does great on hats and small lettering. Have not had to have a tech out at all. Its a beast. Well worth the money


----------



## logos unlimited (May 15, 2015)

we have a tajima 6 head and 8 head they work great for us.


----------



## ShirlandDesign (Nov 29, 2009)

They all run great when they're tweeked up right. We found it use full to learn most standard maintenance and repair duties ourselves. Really this came from having 5 (that's right five) machine tech's out from one of the bigger (very snotty) outfits that deal and maintain embroidery machines, and not one could time it right. We learned how by trial and error just to get the work out on deadline. Bear in mind timing is about as fundamental as using bobbin. lol 

So out of the brands I have personally worked on Tajima, Barudan, SWF, Toyota, Melco and Brother I've found the Tajima's were the easiest to work on and held the settings the longest, and so have my allegiance.


----------



## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

I use Tajimas and they have been fine.One is 13 years old and has had only one operator-caused repair. Machines and software don't have to be purchased together. Plenty of people use Wilcom software with Tajima machines. Definitely consider tech availability and travel costs and potential software training. Carefully consider what level you want when purchasing software. I recommend getting basic editing rather than digitizing,


----------



## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

I have a swf and a melco both run great like stated above you need to learn the machines and service them right and they run great. I have had a variety of machines all work good just up dated the machines.


----------



## yarbsea (Jan 28, 2015)

Melco Emt16 for the win!


----------



## sportasiajan (Nov 6, 2013)

If you want commercial machines, then I would definitely stick to Tajima, Barudan or ZSK machines, they have a proven track record and having used them all at one time or another in my career I can recommend them all. My favorite machine is the ZSK but this is my preference as I find them easy to use, and very forgiving of the occasional operator error
Regards
Jan


----------



## 1badsup (Jan 16, 2015)

I've used the brother/babylock PR600 for 13 years before I upgraded to a Melco EMT16. I know a lot of shops use either Tajima or Barudan. If you have $20k then go with the Tajima or Barudan. The EMT16 will run you about $12k-15k. The brother/babylock PR620 will cost you about $8k.


----------



## marzatplay (May 25, 2014)

I have 3 Melco. I have been in the industry over 20 years. The two top dogs are Tajima and Barudan. If you are serious, you can't go wrong with those two. My next machine will be one of those two.


----------



## Adam92 (Nov 10, 2014)

I've got two 10 year old single head 15 needle Tajimas that run very well. That being said I replaced my 20 year old 6 head Tajima with a new Barudan 15 needle six head machine. That Barudan is a freaking tank, it handles everything amazingly well. It also helps that their customer service is amazing. I'm going to run my Tajima's until they die, but I'm probably a Barudan customer from now on. 

Just to be clear, I know that time and new tech helps the Barudan's case, but I've attended a few trade shows and I've liked how my logos look better on the Barudan than any other new machine. Barudan's and Tajima's cost more money, but they always have parts in stock if something goes wrong and they're built to last. I'd recommend trying to get a 5 year old Barudan or Tajima to save money over going with a newer lesser brand.


----------



## Barkwithjoe (Apr 2, 2013)

saarius said:


> My family and I are seriously considering purchasing a commercial embroidery machine with the concentrations being on shirts and hats, but we are completely new to this and are looking at what machine to purchase. What recommendations to you have for us and why? We have looked at Avance' and SWF but have read some issues when there are problems with the machine about getting them serviced in a timely manner. Have read some of the software for some of the others is hard to learn. I need to get the most bang for my buck but also know that the company we purchase from has a good record. Any help and guidance would be appreciated.


Where are you located?


----------



## 539162 (Jun 12, 2015)

ZSK(No need to say anything else)


----------

