When fulfilling large, unvaried orders, the merits of the traditional multi head still stand true. (Image courtesy Pantograms Manufacturing Co. Inc.)

Room for growth—make it or large orders will break you. In embroidery shops fortunate enough to have business bursting at the seams, expansion to accommodate an upswing in demand often means more heads. But how many? In what configurations? And what are the options? Here, embroidery enthusiasts help those in this predicament head up production possibilities in their shop. 

 

Head start

“Each owner must first know what kind of and how much production is forecast and steadily scheduled in order to even consider buying a multi-head machine,” says Frank Barbieri, Barudan America Inc. “Any multi-head purchase, whether a two- or twenty-head machine, requires large production quantities and steady production throughout the year. Otherwise, it’s just not worth it, or necessary, to buy such a machine.”

 

When stepping up from a single head, several aspects should be considered carefully. According to Pantograms Manufacturing Co. Inc.’s Marc Vila, key considerations when purchasing production or any embroidery equipment have as much to do with what a buyer can expect from the machine manufacturer as the machinery itself. Out of that long-term partnership with the provider, he suggests shoppers seek out a solid training and support program, with dedicated and technically-savvy trainers, along with ongoing phone, email and online support standing by to answer questions. 

 

Next on Vila’s list: machine prep and installation that doesn’t detract from valuable training time. In some cases, it may take a technician an entire day to prep a four head for use, turning training day into training hour if no other time is set aside for equipment education.

 

While the significance in seeking out a quality source is clear, shopping on price is also important to recoup a quicker ROI, faster profit yields and ability to grow further, sooner, says Vila. Finally, he points to the importance of a warranty. “The thing people don’t think about when they’re shopping for, say, used equipment or maybe equipment from overseas where there is no real warranty, is that the machine is the business. If the machine goes down, the business is down; they’re not making any money.” Vila also advises embroiderers to ascertain whether technicians will be available to honor the warranty. “A four-head machine in an eight-hour day can earn twenty-five hundred dollars, so that machine down-time is huge.”

 

Once settled in shop and regularly maintained, a multi-head embroidery machine can multiply order capacity. But given additional expenses, one- and two-head owners are often apprehensive to go big and take that leap to set production into action, Vila reports, falling into a line of thinking that they aren’t making enough money to afford another machine even though their current equipment can’t produce enough. “You need to invest when you need to invest,” he asserts. Too few heads result in slow delivery time, but rushed jobs lead to sloppy work, both of which ultimately translate to lost customers, Vila points out. 

 

Modular-style systems enable operators to monitor and control all equipment from one computer. (Image courtesy Pantograms Manufacturing Co. Inc.)

The big guns

A business can also err on the side of too many heads, and Vila thinks it a bad decision to employ, for example, one 24-head machine because there’d be no way to accommodate small orders. Instead, he says it’s optimal to have a one or two-head around to handle orders of 25 pieces and fewer, allow for sampling and act as an extra head should some giant jobs stream in. 

 

However, larger equipment is still the ultimate solution for those big orders, he explains, adding that a four-head unit will be able to tackle orders at 30-plus pieces per hour. “That multi-head machine is still key because you figure even small businesses are still yielding orders of one- to three-hundred pieces. They do a lot of small orders, but then they get that baseball team,” he goes on. Needing 30 caps, 30 bags, 30 shirts, 30 towels and 30 warm-up jackets, all with the same logo, a tiny team becomes a decent-sized order, and the multi head, the MVP at bat. “We might not be doing as big of orders as we were when the economy was really booming,” Vila comments. “A lot of people might think that most of their business is going to derive from very small orders, but I don’t think those one- and two-piece purchases are the key to most businesses.” What is key, in his estimation, are jobs at 100-plus pieces. 

 

To fulfill these types of orders, Vila advises opting for two, four and six-head configurations, what he sees as magic numbers for multi heads. “Rather than having one twelve-head machine, you could have three four heads or a two head, a four head and a six head. That allows for multitasking, small runs and you can still run those huge orders.” 

 

Barudan’s Barbieri observes embroidery businesses conventionally sticking to smaller machines of as many as six heads in combination with a single head, leaving the major multitudes to businesses of matching stature. “As the market has shifted to small machines and small businesses, the multi-head buyer/owner percentage of the industry is still based within the factory environment,” Barbieri reports. 

 

Traditionally, he says the large machines with upwards of 12 heads were primarily for, and purchased from, these factory owners. “And once upon a time, an embroidery factory was huge,” he continues, adding that as the industry and economy have changed, so has the embroidery scene. 

 

Similarly, Melco’s Simon Orrell notes a major industry change, with fewer and fewer 12- and 18-head machines in the market. He also sees big orders increasingly floating offshore with mighty multi heads in tow. “A lot of people just think they need a four head, a six head, a twelve head when they do production. It’s not the case anymore because there are fewer orders of that magnitude; most of them are going abroad.” 

 

Putting heads together

Ominous as China’s cents-on-the-dollar mega-multi-head embroidery production might be, newer technology options for approaching production allow stateside stitchers to preserve the flexibility of a single head while multiplying productivity. “Modular embroidery systems provide versatility, so you can do a number of different garments,” Orrell explains. “On a four head, you can have four of the same items, you can have four different items, you can have three and a one, you can have different logos, different substrates embroidered on each machine.” 

 

Multitasking modular-style systems are composed of multiple networked single heads, essentially enabling operators to monitor and control all equipment from one computer, remarks Vila. “Comparatively to that six head, having six single heads provides a really nice diversification of what can be done,” he states. 

 

A modular embroidery system’s networkable heads offer the versatility to simultaneously stitch different substrates and designs across heads in any combination or grouping without having to switch heads off. (Image courtesy Melco)

A problem or thread break on one head only stops that machine while the remaining heads continue stitching away, Orrell points out, also mentioning that in addition to job flexibility, modular systems offer purchasing pliability. “You don’t have to go and invest in multiple machines when you don’t need multiple machines. So you can grow your business as your business comes in,” he says. “Let’s say you start off with two machines. After that, because you have the software, you’re only buying the machines. It’s considerably less of an investment after the initial purchase to add on machines. You’re not spending money on something you’re not quite ready for but have to get because that’s the next step up.”

 

This kind of freedom, however, doesn’t run cheap against conventional multi heads, with about a 30 percent price increase for two networked single heads over a two-head machine, according to Vila. He says the dollar difference between systems widens as heads go up because each additional machine adds another control panel to the equation. “There’s a fine line to walk between the investment required for modular versus the investment required for multi head,” he remarks. 

 

Even so, the increased expense can be justified through increased average speed, according to Orrell. “Average speed is between twelve- and thirteen-hundred stitches a minute,” he reports of the Melco machines. “Whereas on a traditional, you’re looking at between seven-fifty, eight hundred max. So you’ve got massive output difference.” 

 

Determining when modular makes sense is similar to considering an upgrade to production embroidery equipment in general and should be rooted in the segments being served. While standard multi-head systems limit decorators to the same design on the same item at any given time, if that’s what’s filling all heads, most of the time, those limitations become a multi-head’s merits. “Traditional is perfect if you’ve got huge orders,” offers Orrell. “If you’ve got thousands of orders coming in for the same thing, you’re not going to want a modular system.” 

 

Even if modulating shop is in the cards, it’s still viable to incorporate both types of equipment. “Business doesn’t have to run completely modular or completely multi head,” Vila states. “Sometimes people think if they start one way, they have to stick with it. But there’s no reason that somebody can’t own three modular machines and a four head.” 

 

In some instances, both technologies can even come in handy on the same job. “That multi head does the main logo and a left chest and then the modular system is doing the right chest name drops,” Vila offers. With room to incorporate one or both production-oriented models, a shop is able to say yes to more orders coming through the door and better prepared to grow comfortably with its client base.