Wildgoose

Who Embroiders?

Recommended Posts

I have branched out and added embroidery to my business and was wondering how many on the forum do also. That has been a rewarding venture although also a big ticket investment. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I offer embroidery and screen printing...however I found It best for cost (and of course time) saving by just outsourcing these items. I get them at cost through a local printer that I do freelance design work for.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We embroider its our main business yes big investment but this was purchased as a "take any where" business as we intend to move to France in the near future we did quite a bit of research before committing to it, and found there was possibly a bigger market in the area of France for embroidery rather than printing/vinyl that we are looking to move to. Most of our business is to the equestrian market as that is our hobby (son competes). We added htv and also large format printing recently, however the quality of embroidery still the best for me. Good luck with your new venture!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wildgoose notice in your sig that you have a summa cutter how do you find it? I have a cheap liyu tc and looking to upgrade as can't rely on it, especially when you try to do long designs, tracking not good at all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Wildgoose notice in your sig that you have a summa cutter how do you find it? I have a cheap liyu tc and looking to upgrade as can't rely on it, especially when you try to do long designs, tracking not good at all.

Oh gosh, I can't say enough good about the Summa. I try not to brag it up on the forum because USCutter doesn't sell them. I firmly believe it's the best money can buy. I have a 30" machine which is actually their smallest offering. I was almost buying a Graphtec FC in a 30" width also and actually saved about $1000 going with the Summa. Other than high down pressure the Summa is equal or superior to the FC in all other aspects. They have lifetime live tech support regardless of who owns them and are built in Belgium with high quality materials. They actually pioneered the optical eye concept and as near as I can find from reading their version has about the best recognition of registration marks out there. I have never met a Summa owner who didn't like his machine.

 

I'm not knocking the FC or any other machine and I would bet that the differences at the end of the day in cut quality are minimal. About the only thing I have heard derogatory about the FC is people having problems with the optical eye. I don't print and cut so this is a non-issue either way for me. The FC does have quite a bit higher pressure so if you are cutting things like thick sandblast resist then it would be better suited or you would need to step up to the higher series of Summa which then start getting more expensive but they also offer a true tangential machine which has all kinds of high pressure and will actually steer the blade mechanically. 

 

I haven't looked at prices lately but the Summacut D75r was about $3,400 with a stand and all that and the FC was around $4,500 ish similarly equiped where the Summa T (tangential) series would be more like $6,000 range for a 30". Bear in mind a tangential will still cut as a drag knife for regular cutting so unless you are doing regular amounts of thick stuff or possibly tiny tiny lettering there would be no reason to wear out your tangential head for normal day to day cutting. At that point why have the added expense. (other than some killer bragging rights and I have been tempted.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OK so we have established that there are at least a few who are embroidery machine owners as I suspected. Next question (realizing that more will eventually chine in over time) What brand do you run and how is the service in your area etc...?

 

I started out wanting to buy a ZSK having read that they are reputed to be one of (if not THE) best built available. I soon got sticker shock once I actually talked to the dealer and ended up going to a used SWF to get my feet wet. It is a table model so pretty much full sized. My story gets a little hazy about there because I have had computer and electrical issues that started up about a month into things. I like the SWF and it is a solid built machine but having only one machine, being less experienced and not wanting to deal with down time I am right in the middle of trading back to the dealer in return for the ZSK I originally looked at. I am confident in the build quality but a little worried that the service will be slow etc... and am banking that the machine will run trouble free for a long time as their reputation suggests. There aren't any techs in my area for any brand so dealing with major issues or tune ups would necessitate some expense one way or the other. The learning curve has been interesting but it didn't take long to see the returns on the investment piling up quickly.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We do embroidery.  I branched into it because every time I do a new line of work, another big money person sees my work and jumps on the bandwagon. Sublimation was the latest that he took from me.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Wild goose thanks for the heads up on the summa, we have the zsk great bit of kit, had it three years no problems  at all , we bought it new and dealer came and installed it and then trained the wife till she was happy with everything. It was initially for her, she then showed me how to work it. We got the boot attachment and hat attachment , also tubular frames with ours, the machine has been totally reliable over the three nearly four years we have had it, you get a manual with it and all the servicing is in there and is so easy to do, mainly greasing/oiling we were even supplied that with the machine. You won't regret buying it .

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ha Goose, just came on to find info on embroidery!  Actually looking for some digitizing for our logo.  I feel like I am starting from scratch in my learning curve again.

 

Did you decide on a machine and will you be doing digitizing? (gonna post a new thread about that as well)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Ha Goose, just came on to find info on embroidery!  Actually looking for some digitizing for our logo.  I feel like I am starting from scratch in my learning curve again.

 

Did you decide on a machine and will you be doing digitizing? (gonna post a new thread about that as well)

I replied to your other post with a couple good digitizers that I have used. I actually tried out 5 different people/companies and those two are my favorites.

 

I did end up going and stepping up to a ZSK. It ships tomorrow and I'll ship the one I have back once I get the new one. 

 

My package came with some software called IDS which is so-so as far as I can tell. This is also known as Generations and it's totally windows based and mostly automatic although there are ways to do had edits so I play with it when i have time. It sounds like it will save files into ZSK TC (Transfer Code) which brings a lot of other information over with the file specific to ZSK controllers so it may be better than I'm giving it credit for but I know next to nothing. Basic names and numbers and that kind of thing are turning out fine but when it starts getting more complex then I pay to have it done. (Or if it's a big client and I want it to look as good as possible). There is a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator called Embroidery i2 that is basically Pulse software but works within AI that sounds very interesting to me given my background in AI. Is also mac compatible and is about the ONLY mac options so some day I may take a look at it but I'm too green to worry about it right now. I pic apart every file that others build to see what they do within the stitching and try to glean a little info as to how to build a good file. It's far far more complicated than I thought it would be. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
 There is a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator called Embroidery i2 that is basically Pulse software but works within AI that sounds very interesting to me given my background in AI.

I looked at that too, sounded greate but i think its REALLLY expensive.  :(  Like $6k?   

 

Thanks, I will check out the other post on digitizing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I looked at that too, sounded greate but i think its REALLLY expensive.  :(  Like $6k?   

 

Thanks, I will check out the other post on digitizing!

It's expensive but I think its more like $3500 range for the plug-in. Very high for either way but so is buying a full version of Wilcom. You can try out the program for month for $199 and then if you like it you can apply that to the purchase but even that is pretty high for a trial. Once I get my new machine up and running and lick my wounds from the overall purchase I may try out the $200 trial run and see if I love it or not but I want to be in a position to be able to go ahead with the purchase if I do and I'm flat out of money right now after dropping another 6K to upgrade my machine

 

http://hic.us/Products/Detail/prodid/74/brand/Pulse?item=Embroidery%20i2%20for%20Adobe®%20Illustrator®

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Motoxchic" data-cid="412728" data-time="1455152366"><p>

I looked at that too, sounded greate but i think its REALLLY expensive. :( Like $6k? <br />

<br />

Thanks, I will check out the other post on digitizing!</p></blockquote>

Check your inbox.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We added a used single head Happy 15 needle machine about a year ago, at the same time we added a used roland 30 inch print and cut machine to go along with our sublimation and t-shirt vinyl cutter business. The print and cut has by far made us more $$$ then the embroidery machine. There is a lot of competition around us in embroidery and it seems all we get is people wanting us to sew on there items and I hate doing that. If you do get a large order for it ( which we haven't had to many) but with one head it takes forever and you wish you had a four head. We bought a Happy because we have a dealer/tech about 45 minutes away and have needed him twice in the last year which I was glad he was close. I don't mean to talk embroidery down, the Happy has been a good machine but this has been our experience with it so far. I wish I would have left the Happy at the dealer and bought a 54 inch roland and a wider (44 inch) sublimation printer and press

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I don't mean to talk embroidery down, the Happy has been a good machine but this has been our experience with it so far. 

I appreciate the input. So far over 5 years my cut vinyl business has gravitated to huge amounts of HTV work which is most of my revenue but we have already made over $1500 net with the used SWF I started out with and that was all within the first month and a half. My regulars have always voiced an interest in embroidered options I just couldn't offer then anything until now. I am pretty sure the HTV will continue to be our bread and butter but the Embroidery has added another facet to the business. The best part for me is my wife actually enjoys the embroidery work and helps me out where with the HTV she doesn't get involved as much so in effect it has added overall potential income from doubling or at least increasing our output. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So how does one "learn" embroidery?  I bought a machine about two years ago.... it was an older machine but appeared to be in good working order.  The price seems very good so I took a chance.  Only to struggle with it, never figuring it out only to sell it not to long ago.  I have no background in embroidery but have always had an interest.

 

Did y'all already have a knowledge of doing it before you jumped into buying a machine?  I would like to get back into it but would like to "learn" some before I do.  I was clueless and the person I bought it from knew very little about it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So how does one "learn" embroidery?  I bought a machine about two years ago.... it was an older machine but appeared to be in good working order.  The price seems very good so I took a chance.  Only to struggle with it, never figuring it out only to sell it not to long ago.  I have no background in embroidery but have always had an interest.

 

Did y'all already have a knowledge of doing it before you jumped into buying a machine?  I would like to get back into it but would like to "learn" some before I do.  I was clueless and the person I bought it from knew very little about it.

Ha ha! Yes the learning curve is long and twisted! Lucky for me I hired a trainer for a day. That is NOT enough time to tell the truth but I had watched hours or youtube and read everything i could get my hands on as well as studied the manual for my machine and software. The study helped out so I could just concentrate my day with the trainer on the stuff that the vids and reading can't teach like proper hooping and what proper bobbin tension feels like, how to fix a screw up etc... the rest was more like what learning to cut vinyl was like. A little trial and error...ask a few more pointed questions, etc... Now I have a whole whopping 3 months under my belt but it feels like about 2 years. I am at least and beginning to understand what I don't know. I can tell that true experience is going to take years. That being said I hire out most of my digitizing at this point so I can eliminate that part of the equation and be sure that if it sews bad it's not a file issue. I have been using a nine year old machine which is in apparent good condition but nine is a lot of years and there are glitches and some missed stitches here and there when it makes a color change that I don't know if it's me or the machine. (probably some dialing in like when your cutter has too much blade out or is dull). I decided to spend some extra coins and get a new machine so I can feel more confident that it's me not the machine. 

 

All I can say is when it is working right it's a pretty amazing thing. It's similar to cutting in that once you get everything set like you think is correct and push the go button it takes on a life of itself and about all you can do is abort if something goes south. 

 

If I was a young man with no family to feed and more time on my hands I would go work an internship or something in an embroidery shop. That would be priceless. Thank goodness for youtube which obviously isn't like the real thing but gives you a good glimpse into some full blown shops in the middle of production. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now