Home Embroidery Machine or Commercial??

By theunforeseen on May. 08, 2006

Hi Everyone,

Firstly thank you for taking the time to read my message.

I have always used proper companies for my custom embroidery needs such as guitar straps, one off t-shirts with my logo and band logo on etc, towels etc lots of 1 off bits n bobs, but it does cost a lot of money and lots on p&p.

What I wanted to ask everyone is:
I wanted to buy a machine that will allow me to put my logos onto various garments or items when needed. And with a view to maybe selling a few at venues etc.

I've made many vector images for other companies to use in the past with no problems so have all the logos already in vector and in other formats.

9 times out of 10 I'll be wanting the logo in white or silver logo on a black item, the largest logo ive had done on a t-shirt being 9 inches approx wide by approx 4 inches high.

What equipment would you recommend for me to do this at home? ive looked at various embroidery machines and costs of hoem and commercial and not sure what I would need or basic minimum specs to achieve this?

Huge thanks and look forward to any replies :o)

Bren

—

Brendan Haze
http://www.TheUnforeseen.com/

Submitted by Marc on Mon, 05/08/2006 - 21:00

Welcome to the forums :)

Comparing a home and commercial machine strictly on the basis of capabilities; a commercial machine would come out the winner, hands down. However, commercial machines do come with a higher price tag.

Quote:
...the largest logo ive had done on a t-shirt being 9 inches approx wide by approx 4 inches high.

A home machine can embroider a 9" x 4" logo no problem. When browsing for home machines, the maximum embroidery area is always advertised. For example, the Brother Innovis 1500D's maximum embroidery area is 160mm x 260 mm (approx. 6" x 10"). There are other home machines with larger embroidery area, but they're more expensive.
Quote:
I wanted to buy a machine that will allow me to put my logos onto various garments or items when needed. And with a view to maybe selling a few at venues etc.

If you're going to be embroidering items for personal use and for selling a few items once in a while, then a home machine will be just fine. One thing you have to keep in mind is that home machines are single-needled. Embroidering designs/logos that have multiple colors requires you to re-thread the machine per color. So as you can see, embroidering large quantities of a design with 7 colors can take a looong time.
Quote:
9 times out of 10 I'll be wanting the logo in white or silver logo on a black item...

Since 90% of the time you'll be embroidering a single color, a single needle is will suffice. New commercial machines have up to 16 needles.

More on having more needles from one of my posts:

Marc wrote:
Having more needles means less supervision due to automatic color changes and trimmers and a cylindrical arm enables you to easily embroider caps. While it is possible to embroidery caps on home machines, it's not really ideal especially in a production environment. Remember that time is money; the more you can do in less time the better. Plus, I think you'd agree that it's so much more convenient not having to wait around for color changes! Also remember that you may void the warranty of a home machine if you use it in a commercial environment--it's a cost issue for manufacturers/dealers obviously.

Quote:
ive looked at various embroidery machines and costs of hoem and commercial and not sure what I would need or basic minimum specs to achieve this?

A home machine can do what you require based on the information you provided.
Quote:
What equipment would you recommend for me to do this at home?

Both a home and commercial machine is suitable for home use. To save money a home machine will do.

If you have more questions, let us know :)

Submitted by theunforeseen on Tue, 05/09/2006 - 03:52

Hi Marc,

Many thanks I spent most of last night loking at various models. A home machine sounds perfect for what I need.

Any personal prefernces between these:

Pfaff 2134 (I like teh look of ths one as it had giant hoop and the ability to continue a design)
Brother Innovis 1500D or 1200e
Janome MC9700

I have my eyes on the Pfaff but most people seem to be selling the Borthers or Janone's and wondered if there was a good reason for it.

Huge thanks for you very helpful reply.

Brendan

Brendan Haze
http://www.TheUnforeseen.com/

Submitted by Marc on Wed, 05/10/2006 - 23:11

To be honest what's best for one person might not be best for another. I have commercial machines and one home machine which is a Brother. I chose a Brother machine because the location of the dealership is only minutes away by car and employs a very friendly and knowledgeable group of people that provides excellent customer service and offers unlimited classes for training as well as the fact that they've been in business for 15 years. So ultimately, for me, the selling point is not totally the machine itself. Had the dealership offered other brands of machines (they sold Brother exclusively), I could have easily purchased another reputable brand.

My advice would be to visit local dealerships in your area and demo all the machines in your price range and see what's best for YOU. Because you're new to embroidery, especially consider what dealerships offer with regards to training and technical support.

Quote:
...most people seem to be selling the Borthers or Janone's and wondered if there was a good reason for it.

I have no answer for this. Maybe it's just in your area? I just don't know.
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