Thinking about going into Embroidery

[linda_wright]

Hi, we are thinking about venturing into Embroidery and would appreciate some advice, we already print T Shirts etc but get asked for embroidery a lot, not sure where to start with the machines etc

[Stitch Up]

Be prepared for a HUGE learning curve :)

[logobear]

it is a different mindset,

[viccar]

expensive machines, noisy, and time consuming.

[Angie]

Embroidery is so popular especially as it last forever, my only regret was to have sold my single head machine because I was able to have this in the house. I then bought a three head machine that lives in the garage wonderful machine but if I get any orders I have to heat the garage for a least an hour before I can start work in the cold months. It is amazing to see the machine work and see the picture/logo come out. I would recomend it but as john said it's a real learning curve especially digitizing.

Good Luck

[Stitch Up]

it is a different mindset,

I recall a post you made some time ago, where you described how difficult trading conditions were! How are you finding things now? Have you changed direction in any way?

[newsgroupmonkey]

expensive machines, noisy, and time consuming.

Noisy? I've only got a single head, but it's nowhere near as noisy as a vinyl cutter

[socialgiraffe]

Don't bother!!!

Until my ex business partner scum ripped me off I owned a screen print business which also did sublimation and embroidery. I only ever targeted promotional items and bulk deals as that is where the business was positioned. Although we had loads of quotes it soon became apparent that there are so many embroiderer's out there that could do a better and cheaper job than us that it simply was not worth it. If you want my opinion, set up a trade deal with a established company. During this economic period there are bound to be companies that have downtime on their machines and would jump at the chance to take on more work, even if it was for slightly less money. This will give you the expansion you require and also allow you to work on other items while someone else is also making you money embroidering.

[logobear]

Re Noise, - A HEAP more than vinyl cutter.
trade good.
P

[Earl Smith]

If you are asked to embroider just names or words then you could start off with the PR650 from Brother. These have on board software with a limited range of built in fonts. Choose your font, write the text and away it goes. But its very limited for quality and speed. Small size text is a no no.
Dont expect to make a fortune with embroidery. Eg; In one hour on the embroidery machine ( single head) you could make 6 items and earn 20 pounds , in an hour printing with vinyl you can print 30 or more shirts at 3 pounds each profit.

And as others have said, its a big learning curve.

[logobear]

there is a nice fit between embroidery and vinyl/transfere print. With embroidery you set it up, and then walk away for a few minutes, during this time you can get on with the 'other' jobs, then back to hoop up the next embroidery piece.
As mentioned above, it does appear to offer a poor financial return by comparison. Startup cost is many times higher, and jobs / profit per hour is a lot less, but consumables (ie thread) is of vertually zero cost, and the decent embroidery machines really keep their value. Decent control software (wilcom) add a few £'000 to startup costs that you might not recover if you exit. I advise contracting out digitizing (india etc) if you deciode to get involved.

[Stitch Up]

Happy New Year to you John :)

[Angie]

:wink: For Christmas john bought me a single head 15 different colour thread Tajima no more sitting in a cold garage:wink:

[linda_wright]

Thank you all for your advice, all taken on board! Been thinking about it a lot and may decide to use someone local for the Embroidery and invest in a Versacam instead. Appreciate all you have said, thank you again and Happy New Year to you all :-)

[Earl Smith]

Happy New year to you as well John. Enjoy the Tajima.
And a Happy New Year to everyone else.

[Stitch Up]

Just fitted a floppy to USB converter on the Tajima - got one for the Brother 3 head machine too, To cold down the workshop to fit it just now!

John

[Earl Smith]

Cant you send direct from your computer John?

[Stitch Up]

If my computer was in the same area - yes, but it's to far away. Using floppies was a PITA so USB seemed to be the best solution.

John

[Earl Smith]

Mine are too far away as well. I use CF cards for mine and have nearly all the designs Ive sent to the machines in the last four years on three of them. As you say its a PITA but I dont trust or know how to set up a wireless system.

[guarddog14]

:wink: For Christmas john bought me a single head 15 different colour thread Tajima no more sitting in a cold garage:wink:

which one is it the neo or the one with a really cool display unit on?

[Ruth15234]

expensive machines, noisy, and time consuming.

viccar you are right...............its so expensive machine also so mach noisy...........I am agree with you.

[Stitch Up]

which one is it the neo or the one with a really cool display unit on?

It's the Neo - Tajima Neo TEJTC1501. I don't need a pretty screen to do embroidery :) I guess it sells machines though.

I know this is a reply to a post nearly a year old. Since buying the Neo, it's not been used at all! Last weekend, I decided to get it out from beneath all the crap and give it a darn good service, took me most of the day but it's running superbly and looks brand new.

I've renewed my enthusiasm and hope to get it doing the business soon. I even purchased Wilcom E3!

I have one question that I'm puzzled about having been away from embroidery for so long:

Positioning the frame. What is the procedure I should be using?

John

[Earl Smith]

Hi John. Not sure what you mean. The position in the machine or the position on the garment?

PS, good to see you post again. ( I saw Goolie at a trade fair, Neoflex not doing so good?)

[Stitch Up]

Hi John. Not sure what you mean. The position in the machine or the position on the garment?


Hi Earl. The problem I've encountered is getting the frame/hoop in the correct position on the machine. When I start to stitch, it sometimes doesn't start where I expected! Should I be lining needle 1 with the centre of the hoop?



PS, good to see you post again. ( I saw Goolie at a trade fair, Neoflex not doing so good?)
At present AA can't produce enough to meet demand. I'm not sure what Goolie means - I know he ceased being the distributor.

[MFS]

Are you thinking of selling the machine as I am interested in buying one? If not selling where and who is the best person or company to buy from ideas second hand due to the cost.

Suresh

[Earl Smith]

The problem you have John is that the design has been digitised with the start point at the edge of the design and not in the center. You have Wicom E3. Load the design into that and look where the center point is. Then go to the stitch tab at the top and click on Auto start and end. Click the middle point and the start point should now be in the middle of the design. Now when you load the job into the machine it should start from the middle.


The problem with the Neo is that the cost to Goolie is too high. He would have to sell it at 30K to make it viable and thats more than double the price in America. And as the US supplier cant supply them quick enough so he cannot offer service to his customers. He still supplies them but only to a few. He sells another printer now which uses UV inks.

[Stitch Up]

The problem you have John is that the design has been digitised with the start point at the edge of the design and not in the center. You have Wicom E3. Load the design into that and look where the center point is. Then go to the stitch tab at the top and click on Auto start and end. Click the middle point and the start point should now be in the middle of the design. Now when you load the job into the machine it should start from the middle.


I'm sure you're right John. I'll do as you suggest. I never used to do the actual machine work, Angie did that but I do need to get it right.

Quick question:
If the embroidery starts on needle 5, should I centre the frame on needle 5?



The problem with the Neo is that the cost to Goolie is too high. He would have to sell it at 30K to make it viable and thats more than double the price in America. And as the US supplier cant supply them quick enough so he cannot offer service to his customers. He still supplies them but only to a few. He sells another printer now which uses UV inks.

I was aware that sales in the USA were higher than expected and as far as I know, AA worked hard to correct the problem. They took on a lot of new staff too.

I went to Philly to see their operation back in September - it's very impressive. They now produce the NeoFlex in-house from the ground up so aren't reliant on Asia in any way. This hopefully has helped with the supply chain.

I know Goolie isn't an official NeoFlex dealer, there's not been any 'fallout' and we all got together in FESPA London.

Thanks for your help.

[Earl Smith]

Yes , you should center the frame on whatever needle is in the middle.

You might need "persuade" Wilcom to center the design, it depends on the origional digitised design format. It will work in the end.

[LanaE]

FWIW, I tried embroidery in my business as it's also a hobby of mine. I found it wasn't that popular however, unless you were able to churn out bulk orders in short amounts of time. You need to know a bit about embroidery and it takes a while to learn so bear this in mind too. Also, make sure you get good quality thread, otherwise it just keeps breaking and is infuriating! It also doesn't give as professional a finish when you keep having to go back over your work to make sure you join it up right...

[markt1513]

Embroidery is all about creative flare you can buy a cheap machine but it's the software and the person who does the logo .
Start buy getting a good made machine either Barudan or tajima and a good software wilcom or Athos to learn I would visit you tube or ask on this forum .
To start embroidery until you learn more I would outsource logo creation as without knowing about sewing you wouldn't have the experiance.
All in all embroidery is great but adding both print and embroidery is better to get successfull.

[markt1513]

Embroidery is a great business to do it can make your imagination come Alive but compared to vinyl cutter it's more expensive but we'll rewarding job .buying a
machine is one expensive but then you need software to send logos a
nd edit logos these are expensive depending on make then you need a person to make logos called degitizing some charge by the 1000 stiches all this need to be looked at before
purchasing any machines but the best makes are Barudan and tajima if you get this makes you will invest in quality also you need threads needles and scissors and an. Eye for detail good luck with deciding .