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Is this worth it?

D2S

New Member
Currently found a Melco EMC10 for sale with a local Craigslist Add, it comes with the following hoops, never really purchased embroidery equipment before I have a local lady that does it for me by the stitch, but don't want to miss an opportunity. They are asking $2500. Is this machine worth it?

3 - 5 inch hoops
3 - 6 inch hoops
1 - Jacket back hoop
1 - 15 x 9 oval hoop
extra needles
cap frame & assembly
2 - cap frames
 

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
Melcos not really. Especially if you are going used. They don't tend to age well.

Are you close to the seller to be able to go and hear the machine run? Buying used embroidery equipment is something that you need to see/hear run, otherwise that $2500 will turn into a big repair bill pretty quick unless you can do it yourself (not that hard, but it will take time).

I would also bring test garments for it to stitch out on. Just because most embroidery companies claim that their machines will stitch on this or that type of substrate doesn't mean that they really do. Some will stitch out beautifully on flat substrates, but have very poor registration on hats, despite the files being setup for hats specifically versus a file that is designed for flat objects and just used on a hat.

Also Melco files like CND and EXP don't play well with your digitizing software outside of Melco's own software. Some stitch types don't translate well when they exported from say Wilcom to CND or EXP. Don't think of that as a selling point for Melco software, the stitch processor on that software is nowhere near that of Wilcom. Also, the work around of using the DST format (universal file format that I would send to my digitizing customers) can be somewhat buggy as well if you start using other functions. Bore function, stop functions (what you will need for applique, puff foam etc).

I personally like the Brother machines, but also Tajima and SWF would be the machines that I would look for. They tend to hold up to abuse a whole lot more and they don't have the digitizing "issues" that the Melco machines have.
 

Suz

New Member
Well D2S, what did you end up doing? Did you get the Melco?

A friend of mine had a Melco, single head machine. Looked like a small domestic machine, but made much sturdier. He could only embroider a single color at a time and had to switch out thread to change color. It worked good for small work, but one day gave up the ghost. It was quite old, but I have to say, it did work well for them for years. I'm doing all their embroidery for them now.

I looked up the EMC10 Melco that you are talking about, looks like 1 head, 10/needle. This one looks like it has many more features on it than the Melco my friend had that went caput. If it runs good and you are comfortable using it, then I'd say buy it! However, not sure I'd pay that price for it myself. I'd probably go closer to $1,000 on it, assuming it runs very well.

I bought a used machine once, for about $1800.00. I put about another $1,000.00 into it, did much of the parts replacement and repairs myself, then had a technician come in to fine tune it. By the time I was done, I ended up with a machine worth about triple what I paid for it, and it's not leased! Yay! Still own it, it was a fantastic investment. It has paid for itself many times over. It's a "Brother" machine, a good name, and the features on it matched pretty closely to the SWF machines I'd purchased new. It was a few years older, but required same kind of files and such, which are TAJIMA based.

About what Evan said, I agree with all of that. My experience (and purchases) on machines have been with the Brother and SWF. SWF machines were purchased new. Software, I use a program called "Generations" which was quite reasonable in price.
 
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WildWestDesigns

Active Member
It was a few years older, but required same kind of files and such, which are TAJIMA based.



I prefer the PES file format myself for color intensive files. I like to deal with the ones that have 18-25 colors (most that I've done to date in a single file), but I just don't like the DST rendering and always have to look at a stitch chart.
 

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bfs/3267838762.html

Pretty sure this is the ad you were looking at, right? Says it doesn't come with software. Do you have software already?

I wouldn't pay that much without even basic entry level digitizing software. If nothing else, lettering software. To get new, say DecoStudio Gold (there is a level below that, but it doesn't have one digitizing tool that in my mind is a must), you are looking around the same price as that machine linked above.

You are going to want software, you might have to tweak a design to work with a garment that your customer brings you later on down the road that the design wasn't original digitized for.

I do think the posting date is too recent, unless they reposted it. I have never used craigslist, so I don't know how the listing works.
 
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