Embroidery - Home machine or commercial
12-10-2010, 05:54 PM
#1
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I recently posted the following on the board in response to QuiltingGranny and then thought it might provide some info to anyone else interested, so here is my diatribe!
OK, you can get a used commercial machine from SWF east for the same cost almost as the Ellisimo and they are wonderful about training and info. I was on the verge of buying one but hubby said in order to have it, I would have to give up my other machines - a Janome 10001 and 6500! So in order to have the best of both worlds, I went with the Ellisimo and have not regretted it (well sorta miss my 6500).
I did extensive research into the commercial machines and talked with two of the best know embroidery sites - Stitchitize and Floriani. Both suggested staying away from Japanese machines.
I also thought about the Bernina 830 but have a friend who bought one. She is highly intelligent and although she has had the machine a year, still has problems with it! In fact, she might be selling it soon! I was allowed to play with the machine at my local dealer and spent the day reading the manual and playing with it and my experience was enough to convince me they COULD NOT pay me to take this monstrosity home! It is very finicky and the thread sensor is so touchy, my friend has had it in the shop five times already to have infinitesimal pieces of lint removed that only a dealer can do! OK, enough bashing. I am sure there are many who will swear by this machine.
The Babylock Ellisimo and the Brother Quattro are basically the same machine with a few differences, mostly the designs that come preloaded - Disney for Brother and Nancy Zeiman for Babylock.
Don't know about the warranty thing but it sounds logical. Home machines are not intended to be used in commercial settings. I recently was asked to embroider a logo on 4 larger size Carhart jackets and although I managed to do it, I have sworn never to tackle anything along that line again! I supported the weight of the jackets while doing the embroidery because I was afraid the weight would cause problems with the alignment of my machine.
As to hoop size, larger hoops do make an impact if you are doing borders or very large designs but I find I am still using my 5 x 7 more than any others - and the 5 x 7 did not come with my machine so I had to order it separately. This tells me the manufacturers realized that this hoop would be another potential sale item!
Janome makes wonderful quality machines, however, the 11000 was not created to keep up with the current trends. I have heard that they may be releasing a new embroidery machine with the next year. Depends on how long you want to wait!
Also think about whether she wants to get into digitizing her own designs which you almost have to do if you are going to do custom embroidery. Again I have tried most of them, including Embird, Viking 4D, Digitizer Pro (Loved it), and now own Floriani Embroidery Suite. Out of all the programs, Floriani has the shortest learning curve and all - and I do mean ALL - the upgrades since they released it have been free! Not so with the other programs! They also have webinars from time to time teaching techniques and have a wonderful support forum where you get help from experienced users and moderators.
Well, there you have my two cents worth! Good luck to your daughter. Hope you are able to benefit from some of this. Let us know what she decides to do.
OK, you can get a used commercial machine from SWF east for the same cost almost as the Ellisimo and they are wonderful about training and info. I was on the verge of buying one but hubby said in order to have it, I would have to give up my other machines - a Janome 10001 and 6500! So in order to have the best of both worlds, I went with the Ellisimo and have not regretted it (well sorta miss my 6500).
I did extensive research into the commercial machines and talked with two of the best know embroidery sites - Stitchitize and Floriani. Both suggested staying away from Japanese machines.
I also thought about the Bernina 830 but have a friend who bought one. She is highly intelligent and although she has had the machine a year, still has problems with it! In fact, she might be selling it soon! I was allowed to play with the machine at my local dealer and spent the day reading the manual and playing with it and my experience was enough to convince me they COULD NOT pay me to take this monstrosity home! It is very finicky and the thread sensor is so touchy, my friend has had it in the shop five times already to have infinitesimal pieces of lint removed that only a dealer can do! OK, enough bashing. I am sure there are many who will swear by this machine.
The Babylock Ellisimo and the Brother Quattro are basically the same machine with a few differences, mostly the designs that come preloaded - Disney for Brother and Nancy Zeiman for Babylock.
Don't know about the warranty thing but it sounds logical. Home machines are not intended to be used in commercial settings. I recently was asked to embroider a logo on 4 larger size Carhart jackets and although I managed to do it, I have sworn never to tackle anything along that line again! I supported the weight of the jackets while doing the embroidery because I was afraid the weight would cause problems with the alignment of my machine.
As to hoop size, larger hoops do make an impact if you are doing borders or very large designs but I find I am still using my 5 x 7 more than any others - and the 5 x 7 did not come with my machine so I had to order it separately. This tells me the manufacturers realized that this hoop would be another potential sale item!
Janome makes wonderful quality machines, however, the 11000 was not created to keep up with the current trends. I have heard that they may be releasing a new embroidery machine with the next year. Depends on how long you want to wait!
Also think about whether she wants to get into digitizing her own designs which you almost have to do if you are going to do custom embroidery. Again I have tried most of them, including Embird, Viking 4D, Digitizer Pro (Loved it), and now own Floriani Embroidery Suite. Out of all the programs, Floriani has the shortest learning curve and all - and I do mean ALL - the upgrades since they released it have been free! Not so with the other programs! They also have webinars from time to time teaching techniques and have a wonderful support forum where you get help from experienced users and moderators.
Well, there you have my two cents worth! Good luck to your daughter. Hope you are able to benefit from some of this. Let us know what she decides to do.
12-10-2010, 06:01 PM
#2
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As I posted in the other thread, I have the new 830 and absolutely love it. Though it's more a computer and has some technology behind it that some people struggle with. I'd buy another if I could afford it! But, I would never buy it or any other home machine to use commercially. One needle vs. 10 or 6 and the fact that using a home machine as a commercial machine voids warranties...not worth it!
12-11-2010, 08:47 AM
#4
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I didn't mean to upset anyone. As I said, there are people who swear by the 830 and I am glad they have had success with the machine. It did not work for me nor for my friend. So the best advice is to try every machine you are interested in and make your own decision.
12-11-2010, 09:15 AM
#5
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Outer Space
Posts: 9,319
Originally Posted by scowlkat
I didn't mean to upset anyone. As I said, there are people who swear by the 830 and I am glad they have had success with the machine. It did not work for me nor for my friend. So the best advice is to try every machine you are interested in and make your own decision.
I just think the home machines and commercial machines are two different animals, so to speak. I wonder how many stitches per day would be considered commercial use and cause warranty problems? I never asked specifically... I can't imagine how fast these units would zip through projects with all those needles!!
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