[Ostrogorsky]

Hello!

I'm new here so forgive me if I ask a question that may have been answered before. But through my search in the forum, I have not yet found a clear answer. There might not be one but I'll ask anyway.

I'm new to this field and my goal would be to make embroidery as a sideline, not a full time job per se. I would like to purchase a well made, good quality, single head, multi-needle machine that will last several years.

My budget is somewhere around 8000$. I have read good reviews about Tajima, Barudan and ZSK. In my area (Quebec city, Canada) there is no Barudan or ZSK vendor near me (at least I can't find any), so this might be a concern if I need repairs or else. The only close vendors are Brother and Tajima, so this might restrict my research.

So between Brother and Tajima which would be best ? Or should I get a Barudan ? Or something else ?

Any kind of help will be greatly appreciated.

Best regards

-Jerome

 

[W6ON]

Hello.
For your price range, and stated use, a Brother would make a good start. Look at the Babylock branded machines as they are the same as Brother, but less expensive. And you could get a NEW one with a warranty, etc. plus they are very easy to learn on and are pretty much idiot proof. Something to think about if you have no prior experience with embroidery machines.

I have used a 6 needle Brother for my home business with great success. But have since outgrown it and recently took delivery on a ZSK Sprint 5. Awesome machine!

Also, you have to keep in mind that you will need some kind of embroidery software so you can do some basic edits, etc.
The software can run upwards to $15,000. You can get basic software for a lot less.

Another point to the Brother/Babylock machines is that they have fonts and some patterns built into them. So if all your doing is lettering, then you can skip on the software for awhile.

Good luck on your endeavor. Embroidery is a lot of fun.

Take care, Stan

 

[Ajello]

The Brother machines are relatively easy to use and the onboard fonts are very handy. I've been using them before the purchase of software for lettering. Though I must say, once you have the software you won't be bother with the on board anymore since there is so much you can do! So, you might want to look into setting aside budgets for software. If you just want to do layout and simple editing with no digitizing, software cost from free to just a few hundreds.

 

[skits]

Barudan elite is an awesome machine!!

 

[tfalk]

For $8K, you should be able to pickup a used Brother/Babylock 6 needle or a commercial compact machine and some form of software to get started. I recall SWF/ColDesi used to have reconditioned machine packages with single head 9/12/15 needles that were around $9K, not sure if they still do. Another place to look for used machines is digitsmith.com - I've seen a couple recently that were listed as Canada. If you opt for a used machine, don't buy it sight unseen - you really need to see it in person and hopefully get some training on how to operate it.

If you stay with the hoops that come with the machines, the Brother/Babylock machines won't let you do anything stupid like try to stitch outside of the hoop and break the reciprocator. The commercial machines are not that smart and rely on the skills of the operator... in the computer field, it's know as stupid in, stupid out...

 

[DKgrafix]

For that money, look used. New Tajima is around 15-16K

 

[johnmarchuk]

I have had my Tajima for 15 years and had no problems other than regular maintenance like oil,grease these machines are work horses.