I bought a Viking embroidery/sewing machine a yr ago. It's ok for what I wanted at that time. Now I see where I would like to grow. Do more and do it faster. So I hit the net in search of a machine that will do what I need now.
I looked at the brother 620. I found 1 in that was about 20 to 30 minutes away from me. The guy that owned the store was nice and he offered to teach me all he knew about the machine. I do not have any question about this machine, just part of the story; please do not tell me about it. Anyway, my girlfriend and I was coming home 1 night and drove pass a place with a name that we could not figured out where we knew it from. I live in a suburb of Cleveland and not far from me is a street with a lot of companies, such as Dirty Devil and Hoover. A few chemical labs, hell waste management is not far.
Well back to the story. I went back online looking for specs on the brother and as I compared the brother with other machines, the name that I saw around the corner was the name of a machine. Now it didn't click right away. While looking on their site I looked up the contact info to see how far I would have to go for help if I needed it. Found out they are in the same city. So the next day I drove down the main street I thought they would be on and it was the place that we knew sound familiar and couldn't remember why.
Now I told the story because I would like for you to keep in mind that for training and any tech help, I'm 4 minutes away from their America corp. head quarters. Now for those that have made it this far in the reading, I am really 4 minutes away. I had a meeting with them that was only suppose to be an hour and a half. We were there 2 and half hours. The sale manager and not a rep, talked with us.
Here are my questions: 1. How good is the software deco studio e 1.5?
2. How good is the single head, 15 needle barudan?
3. Does any one here belong to the NNEP?
4. If so, how helpful are they?
Anyone that can help me out, please do. I'm looking to buy and after the visit, I'm sold. We both are.
__________________ You can learn a lot from the TSF.
Here are my questions: 1. How good is the software deco studio e 1.5?
Deco Studio is excellent software.
2. How good is the single head, 15 needle barudan?
Barudan is the best embroidery machine in the world.
3. Does any one here belong to the NNEP?
When I bought my Barudan I also purchased the New Business Package. As a part of that I received one year membership in NNEP.
4. If so, how helpful are they?
NNEP can be very helpful. They are nice people and I hear great things about them. I did not renew after my free first year but that is just me. The discounts that you receive from some suppliers for being a member of NNEP more than offsets the membership cost.
The most important factor in deciding which embroidery machine to buy is the training and tech support. Barudan's training and tech support are the best. Being located so close to their headquarters is even better. Barudan's are an extremely well made machine that, with proper maintenance, will last you forever.
Anyone that can help me out, please do. I'm looking to buy and after the visit, I'm sold. We both are.
You will find much help here with the machine and with embroidery in general. There are some other specific embroidery forums that can be very helpful also.
Jane and I have different opinions on this Deco studio is good software, if not a little overpriced. Support and training is the biggest thing with software(and machines for that matter). Any software is good if you can learn how to use it. While most people love their Barudans, I've not been impressed with mine. Will never own another one, nor recommend them in my area. For me it was a take my money, drop it in my driveway, and disappear type sale. But we all have different experiences.
Jane and I have different opinions on this Deco studio is good software, if not a little overpriced. Support and training is the biggest thing with software(and machines for that matter). Any software is good if you can learn how to use it. While most people love their Barudans, I've not been impressed with mine. Will never own another one, nor recommend them in my area. For me it was a take my money, drop it in my driveway, and disappear type sale. But we all have different experiences.
How was the machine over all? By me being so close to them, I hope I can get good help fast.
__________________ You can learn a lot from the TSF.
How was the machine over all? By me being so close to them, I hope I can get good help fast.
The machine itself is great. Made to last for a long time.
When I first got my machine I made a lot of newby mistakes and was calling tech support a lot. I think they recognized my voice I called so much. Someone responded to me within the hour and talked me through my problem. And, usually they would call me back later in the day to make sure everything was still working okay.
I'm not very mechanical but Barudan's tech support has taught me so much and given me confidence that I can repair and maintain my machine myself.
Being located so close to Barudan is definitely a big plus. I think you will find the people who work at Barudan are nice people who are more than willing to help you.
I started my business with a Bernina sewing/embroidery machine. To me, Bernina is the very best sewing machine made. I had wanted one all my life and when I finally bought one I knew I had made the right decision. So, when I started looking at commercial embroidery machines I knew I wanted one that was the equilvalent of my Bernina. After much reading and talking I decided on Barudan. The quality of the stitch is the same great quality I have from my Bernina.
I will agree that the barudan is well made. I've had my own shop for a few years so I didn't make the newbie mistakes Jane mentioned. I just happened to get one of the first of these models for the barudan. Tech support was about 50/50 for me. In fact, one of the techies has been instructed to never talk to me again The others have been very good. If you get the full package, you will be ok I think. You will need the support as the manual is good for fire starter and that is about it. It is a very easy machine to operate, I will say that.
Okay, you two have been of good help. I had a very nice time there yesterday. We both left there feeling like they would hold our hands if need be. Plus they never tried to make a sale to us. All the time she just talk about how the machine and software worked and then showed them both in action to us. She took us to the training room and talk with us about other brands and what to look for if we go some where else to buy.
__________________ You can learn a lot from the TSF.
I bought a Viking embroidery/sewing machine a yr ago. It's ok for what I wanted at that time. Now I see where I would like to grow. Do more and do it faster. So I hit the net in search of a machine that will do what I need now.
I looked at the brother 620. I found 1 in that was about 20 to 30 minutes away from me. The guy that owned the store was nice and he offered to teach me all he knew about the machine. I do not have any question about this machine, just part of the story; please do not tell me about it. Anyway, my girlfriend and I was coming home 1 night and drove pass a place with a name that we could not figured out where we knew it from. I live in a suburb of Cleveland and not far from me is a street with a lot of companies, such as Dirty Devil and Hoover. A few chemical labs, hell waste management is not far.
Well back to the story. I went back online looking for specs on the brother and as I compared the brother with other machines, the name that I saw around the corner was the name of a machine. Now it didn't click right away. While looking on their site I looked up the contact info to see how far I would have to go for help if I needed it. Found out they are in the same city. So the next day I drove down the main street I thought they would be on and it was the place that we knew sound familiar and couldn't remember why.
Now I told the story because I would like for you to keep in mind that for training and any tech help, I'm 4 minutes away from their America corp. head quarters. Now for those that have made it this far in the reading, I am really 4 minutes away. I had a meeting with them that was only suppose to be an hour and a half. We were there 2 and half hours. The sale manager and not a rep, talked with us.
Here are my questions: 1. How good is the software deco studio e 1.5?
2. How good is the single head, 15 needle barudan?
3. Does any one here belong to the NNEP?
4. If so, how helpful are they?
Anyone that can help me out, please do. I'm looking to buy and after the visit, I'm sold. We both are.
Hellloooooo there from down in Copley, Ohio.
We too started out with a Husqvarna Viking Machine (Designer SE) and then moved to the Barudan 15 Needle.
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
The training provided was great and the fact that they are "right down the street" helps a lot. They are always helpful with any questions, service issues, and when we need additional hoops. I don't think I could have made a better decision. We still use our SE for small jobs, it's a great machine as well, so I hope you don't get rid of it
Also, we have the DecoStudio and it works very well for our needs, but I'm not sure what kind of embroidery is going to be your focus. I have had no complaints with the DecoStudio. There are a few things I miss from the 3D/4D (like the color sort feature). And I use the TES software as well, but most of my designing is done in DecoStudio. It's a powerful little software and if you're familiar with Corel, there is sooo much you can do with the software.
Also, being a member of NNEP does have it's perks. We haven't fully utilized all of the services, but we see where they can be helpful. We got the New Business Venture package as well. Craig over at Barudan was very helpful in getting us going with our package/purchase.
Also, do you realize that there is a Tajima/Hirsch facility on Bainbridge? It's smaller, and you probably drove right past it. My business partner used to work at Nestle/Stouffers, so he is familiar with the area (Yeah, gave up a lucrative engineering job to be a seamstress )We went with Barudan, but the Tajima was highly recommened as well.
PM me if you want to call and talk to my business partner and I about our purchase.
^We looked at the Amaya too. We were specifically impressed with the networking capablities. We didn't look very heavily at the software though. When we got ours, the XT's had just come out and I was hearing rumors that they weren't as sturdy. But since then, I've heard more good things than bad.
When we get our "big shop", we thought about getting a few of the modular heads.
There is a great site called amayausers.net (or .com) that you may be able to browse and get some feedback. I think there are some Amaya users here as well.
Well I'am glad to see you are looking to expand..that's
great. we Have a TOYOTA 9000 and we love it.
Its the same as a tajima neo the electronics are different
but thats it. Barudan has a very good rep. know of a few
just try to get the best deal for all incuded items you can
nnep we belong and it has its benefits should save your
membership fee in savings,etc .we use pantograms and
3d for our digitizing but are looking into the deco for
future use goood luck on you're decision
This is harder than buying a car, lol. I didn't like the brother for the $$ they were talking. It was not as fast or as flexible to me. It is a good machine to start, but it would not suit my needs fully.
The AMAYA is great. I really liked it. Fast and plenty of needles. I also liked some of the features it has that the others don't. Well the other 2. Tajima never got back with me and they too have a office close to me. Go figure, not good.
Barudan may be the best, but it cost more than the Melco, so I think it may just be the AMAYA XT that I get. I'm waiting to talk to the lease guy. He does both machines and I'll see what he thinks based on his experience.
__________________ You can learn a lot from the TSF.
Up Grade 
Deco studio is good software, if not a little overpriced. Support and training is the biggest thing with software(and machines for that matter). Any software is good if you can learn how to use it. While most people love their Barudans, I've not been impressed with mine. Will never own another one, nor recommend them in my area. For me it was a take my money, drop it in my driveway, and disappear type sale. But we all have different experiences.
)We went with Barudan, but the Tajima was highly recommened as well. 
