Embroidery digitizing is a well-known art of embroidery on different fabrics with different stitches and threads using an embroidery machine. This type of art has given people a unique and elegant style, and they have been famous for several decades now. In fact, the commercial embroidery industry has been earning 47 billion dollars a year, and people in the industry continue to expand worldwide.
Embroidery digitizing is an excellent way to exercise your creative juices and, at the same time, make tons of money by marketing your products. The good thing about the embroidery business is that you can choose where to put up your business, whether it is home-based or in a small space in the city. You will only need your needles, fabrics, and your commercial grade embroidery machine – wherever you go, this venture will still be profitable.
A commercial embroidery machine is an excellent and useful machine. However, handling it requires immense knowledge about the machine, its thread and needles, and how it operates in general. Before switching to a commercial grade embroidery machine, make sure that you are a skilled person who knows how to handle this machine well because even the smallest mistake you make could ruin the whole design.
Among the most asked questions by people who want to start their embroidery digitizing business is “What is the best embroidery machine to use for an embroidery business?” Honestly, it is different from person to person. However, to determine what commercial grade embroidery machine is best for you, you must first know some basics about the embroidery business you are going to take and your intentions for this venture.
When choosing the best commercial embroidery machine for you and your business, there are several factors to consider. Having the right machine is crucial because, aside from its technical perspective, purchasing an embroidery machine is already considered an investment.
Therefore, here are some factors that you might want to consider before buying your first commercial embroidery machine.
Type of Machine
There are two different types of embroidery machines – computerized and free-motion machines. These two types of embroidery machines are run by electricity, and they also consist of foot pedals that help regulate the operation of the embroidery machine. The harder you press the foot pedal, the faster the machine stitches.
There are three types of computer-controlled commercial embroidery machines – Single-head CCEM, Multi-head CCEM, and Schiffli CCEM. These machines differ in their functions and the number of sewing heads they have.
Having the perfect machine for you and your business determines the type of embroidered products you produce. It is also important to choose the type of commercial grade embroidery machine with the perfect size and weight for your liking. Choose an embroidery machine that could fit on your worktable to be more comfortable and to keep your sewing space organized.
A single-head computer-controlled commercial embroidery machine is a perfect choice for small and medium-sized businesses.
Hoop Size
The hoop size is also an important factor to ponder when looking for the best commercial grade embroidery machine. If you want to produce a product with a larger design, you should go for a machine with a larger hoop size.
If you are stitching products like t-shirts, it is better to have a larger hoop size, such as 5×7 or 7×12 inches. Most commercial embroidery machines have a 4×4 inches hoop size. However, some machines cannot support a larger hoop size as they do not have enough space.
Embroidery Bed
Before stitching, you will need to set the fabric you will be stitching on the bed of the machine. The bed you are setting the fabric into is the embroidery bed. It is similar to a sewing machine bed, but only in an embroidery machine.
There are four types of embroidery beds – cylinder bed, feed of the arm bed, flat-bed, and the raised bed. All of these beds are perfect and suited for particular apparel and fabric. So you must choose something which is suited for the material and fabric of the products you want to market.
The flat embroidery bed is the standard embroidery bed, and most small and medium-sized businesses use a flat embroidery bed for their commercial grade embroidery machines.
Needles per Sewing Head
Commercial embroidery machines usually have one or more needles on their sewing head. However, small and medium-sized embroidery businesses usually go for a single sewing head.
An embroidery machine with multiple needles per sewing head allows easy stitching, especially if you want to stitch a multi-colored embroidery pattern. So if budget permits, it is better to go with a multiple-needle sewing head commercial grade embroidery machine.
Working Speed
Commercial grade embroidery machines are made for high-efficiency and high cost-performance ratios. This means that commercial embroidery machines can stitch the right and perfect embroidery designs in a very minimum amount of time.
A commercial embroidery machine should work fast and have a high work speed. To know if the embroider machine works fast, you should examine its SPM, the number of stitches per minute, and the SPI, the number of stitches per inch of your fabric. Commercial embroidery machines with higher SPI and lower SPM are slower yet more efficient than commercial embroidery machines with the same SPM but lower SPI.
The number of stitches per inch will help know how the machine produces your design on the fabric accurately. If your machine has a higher SPI, it can produce many fine and detailed embroidery stitches onto your chosen material.
If you want to work faster but with higher efficiency, you should go for a commercial grade embroidery machine with a high SPM and SPI. Some machines do not have an SPI rating, so it is important to choose a machine with a high SPM rate in the absence of the SPI. The standard stitch per minute rate is 650 SPM, so it is better to buy an embroidery machine with a higher SPM than 650. Having at least 700 SPM is already an ideal working speed.
Time is money, especially when working on your own and in your own space, such as at home. When you have a lot of projects and products to produce, it is important that your commercial grade embroidery machine can work at a faster speed to avoid piling up orders. It is important to save time and money when you have a small business, so choosing a machine with a higher SPM than the standard one can take you to places.