Tajima DG/ML by Pulse and Wilcom ES are the most popular and have been around for a long time. Both have several levels of software depending on what you need. From full-digitizing to just lettering and basic editing.
Annette
__________________
Tajima/Ioline 300/VersaCamm SP30/Brother DGT541 / Summa D60/4 Station Screen Printer/ Epson 4800 Hybrid/Epilog Laser
Anette and Steven are correct. I just want to add that when chossing what embroidery software to use, you also have to consider the recommendation of your embroidery machine vendor.
Not to be a pain by why would I consider the recommendation of the machine vendor? Many of them have business partnerships but other than that, they do not have any practical experience with the software. There is a very good article in this months impression magazine on digitizing software that points out that you should try the different softwares hands on (maybe at a trade show) to see what works best for you. That is excellent advice although not always practical due to time and distance involved. I would rather take the opinion of a bunch of digitizers over the embroidery machine seller any day!
Last edited by scuba_steve2699; February 4th, 2008 at 06:24 AM.
Reason: grammer and spelling errors
Well, it's mainly for compatibility issues. And also, for example, if you have a machine with the capability to do boring and apply sequins, you don't want to buy a digitizing software which can't program those things.
I noted that CorelDrawings is getting popular nowadays, but I'm not sure if it has the capability to program sequin embroidery. Also, some new model Tajima machines can accomodate more than 1 color of sequins, and I'm not sure if some softwares other than the recommended DG/ML Pulse can properly do that. Lastly, some softwares can't be used to send designs directly, or network to multiple machines. Your machine vendor can tell you what softwares will work well on your network. I agree though that ease of use should be the number one factor in choosing the software, and digitizers are the best source of this information.
Not to be a pain by why would I consider the recommendation of the machine vendor? Many of them have business partnerships but other than that, they do not have any practical experience with the software. There is a very good article in this months impression magazine on digitizing software that points out that you should try the different softwares hands on (maybe at a trade show) to see what works best for you. That is excellent advice although not always practical due to time and distance involved. I would rather take the opinion of a bunch of digitizers over the embroidery machine seller any day!
Why would you not consider the recommendation of the vendor? I bought my machine and software from SWF and it came with 3 days of training as many times as I need it. You couldn't be more wrong about the "no practical experience" statement. The man that taught our software to us knew that program inside and out. He had obviously taken the time necessary to learn every aspect of that program. If you had the time to do the tradeshow thing, that would be a great idea, but most of us don't. Also, buy buying my software over Wilcom's, I saved thousands of dollars that my company could not have afforded to give up.
__________________
Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
I do not dent that the individual teaching you knew the software very well but how was thier experience level at actually creating designs that run well vice just knowing how to punch it on the screen? Nothing can compare to the experience of a seasoned digitizer that has seen the difficult design due to placement or run conditions. I will conceded that sometimes you will get a better price buying a package deal but I would caution someone that uses that as thier deciding factor vs a better software program. In reality since very few manufacturers offer trial programs, there is little to no way to see how you like the program unless you go to a trade show and give them a test there. Just my 2 cents.
I do not dent that the individual teaching you knew the software very well but how was thier experience level at actually creating designs that run well vice just knowing how to punch it on the screen? Nothing can compare to the experience of a seasoned digitizer that has seen the difficult design due to placement or run conditions. I will conceded that sometimes you will get a better price buying a package deal but I would caution someone that uses that as thier deciding factor vs a better software program. In reality since very few manufacturers offer trial programs, there is little to no way to see how you like the program unless you go to a trade show and give them a test there. Just my 2 cents.
Actually, I was able to see his experience first hand. Someone that he worked with begged him to do a last minute design during our training so the second night he digitized the design and the 3rd day I saw it print flawlessly. He also used it as an example in our last class and explained to us all why and how he did what he did. He explained to us his reasons behind every approach he took and got us thinking about how and why we should do what we should do. I believe that he said that he was in his third year of digitizing/teaching and was very patient as there were lots of questions posed by our group.
You're absolutely correct in the try before you buy approach. If at all possible, it would be ideal for everyone to do this. Unfortunately, for a large percentile of us, it's just not feasible. The larger tradeshows are not nearby and for someone pinching pennies, it's not in the cards to spend $500 to $1000 to get a plane ticket, hotel room, rental car, meals, etc. It would be great to see more stops along the way and in more cities than the current list.
__________________
Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
You say print but I think you mean stitch? It certainly sounds like you got one of the better programs but I think it is an exception rather than the norm. also you talked about the budget for the trade show but how much did it cost you to go out for training at the facility? I would guess it is a similar expense and if you had gotten sub standard training or found out the product was uneasy to use, you would be stuck at that point. It does sound like your situation is a good one and I hope that others have the same experience.
You say print but I think you mean stitch? It certainly sounds like you got one of the better programs but I think it is an exception rather than the norm. also you talked about the budget for the trade show but how much did it cost you to go out for training at the facility? I would guess it is a similar expense and if you had gotten sub standard training or found out the product was uneasy to use, you would be stuck at that point. It does sound like your situation is a good one and I hope that others have the same experience.
Yes, you are correct, I should have said "sew out" rather than print. I think that all aspects that I have seen in my experiences with SWF have been on the exception, rather than the norm side. I highly recommend them to anyone. SWF EAST has a headquarters in New Jersey and one in Florida. They also have classes in other locations, just not as frequently, ie once a month versus every week. Luckily, they have a class in the Charlotte, NC area which was only 2 hours away from me. I drove my own car so gas was about $50, the room was about $120 for 2 nights, and my food was about $50 for the 3 days, since my hotel had a good setup for a continental breakfast. So all in all I spent about $250 bucks and the training came with the purchase of my machine.
As far as being stuck, I think that the problem is not in the software alone, but in the service that you get in all aspects of your purchase. If you get someone from the get go who acts only as a salesman and doesn't do a good job of answering your questions in the first place, chances are that you won't have any luck down the road. If I buy my machine from company 1, and my digitizing software from company 2, and company 1 can't tell me what's wrong with my machine if something happens, who cares what brand of software I have?
__________________
Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
I went to a couple shows and looked at a couple machines. I almost bought a 1501C from SWF but my boss(my wife) pulled the plug at the last minute. I've now had my business up and running for more than a year and she can see all the embroidery jobs I'm getting with each screen printed job I get.
I'm back in the market so I'm curious what machines all of you use. I know and have seen the big name machines like Tajima and SWF. What would be a good starter machine I could get, but could eventually build on. I'll mainly do logo'd Polo's, button downs, Jackets and things like that. I don't plan on doing any elaborate digitizing. Mainly type and logo's.
I went to a couple shows and looked at a couple machines. I almost bought a 1501C from SWF but my boss(my wife) pulled the plug at the last minute. I've now had my business up and running for more than a year and she can see all the embroidery jobs I'm getting with each screen printed job I get.
I'm back in the market so I'm curious what machines all of you use. I know and have seen the big name machines like Tajima and SWF. What would be a good starter machine I could get, but could eventually build on. I'll mainly do logo'd Polo's, button downs, Jackets and things like that. I don't plan on doing any elaborate digitizing. Mainly type and logo's.
If you just want to have everything digitized including text, and don't plan on having a lot of detailed multi-color jobs, a single head 6 needle will be fine. Keep in mind however that if you get a job that's 7 or 8 or higher colors, for each item you print you'll have to program the needle settings for the first 6, sew, stop the machine, rethread the additional colors, reprogram the needle settings, hit start, sew the last colors, rethread the original colors, and start again.
That's why I went with a 15 needle. I've only done a few designs over 6 colors but I've been able to do those jobs a lot quicker than if I'd only had a 6 needle. Then there's the issue of the larger work area. I added it to my purchase (1501T or "standard size") and have gotten several oddly size jobs: large sports equipment bags, golf bags, large blankets, etc., that were much easier to work with and manipulate than they would have been on the smaller machines.
I'm currently thinking about adding another smaller machine, to take with me to the local community market and different area shows, since my 550 pounder wouldn't be easy to take with me. It would definitely be nice to have an extra machine anyway for the handbags, other oneoffs, and to speed up production on larger jobs.
The difference between the 6 needle compact and the 15 needle standard size is about 5-6 grand so you'll definitely have to take your budget in mind. My next purchase will be a used smaller machine which I can get from SWF for about 7 or 8 grand.
__________________
Hard labor kills, make t-shirts instead.
Embroidery Software 
www.busyPrinting.com
