Anything that speeds up the process adds to the bottom line, or it should. Too many times I hear embroiderers share their excitement over a new process, a bigger machine or a time-saving method with the customer in mind: “Wow, a six-head machine! Now I can lower the price on any shirt orders of six or more.” Or, “What a fast and efficient hooping device! I can lower my price to my customer because I am not spending as much time on their order.”

I am a believer in knowing what your costs are—and making sure that you never quote less than your hourly “wage” once you have figured out how many dollars it takes to keep your doors open. I think it is important to know exactly where you stand in regard to every volt of electricity and every minute of time. But, if your calculations show that you need to make $60 per hour (which includes salary, vacation, and reinvestment in your business) and you can stitch 12 shirts in an hour on that new six-head machine, does that mean that you should charge only $5 to embellish each shirt? (And we are not even addressing the profit on the shirt here if you provide it. . . .)

My answer is a resounding No! If you have been decorating those same shirts on a single head and charging $36 per shirt (shirt costs $8 and you sell it for $16 unadorned) then that same $20 embellishment fee should apply—making those 12 shirts worth $240 on that one-hour run on the six-head—plus the profit on the shirt.

That’s quite a difference from the $60 per hour.

It’s called “what the market will bear,” and it translates into “Ain’t nobody’s business” if you do the shirts one at a time, six at a time or 24 at a time. The price of the shirt is $36.

The money goes in your pocket, not thrown out on the table for the customer to scoop up. You made the investment, you took the time to educate yourself.

I realize that, when you start to get up in numbers, the customer expects a price break. I give that break on the mark-up on the shirt, never on the embroidery, even if the embroidery is the same on each shirt.

And what if the embroidery is different on each shirt? I call those “onesie-twosies” even if there are 200 of ‘em—after all, everyone is not named “Bob.” That’s why we call it personalization.

So, having said my piece on pricing, let’s look at a way you can speed up the personalization process without sacrificing quality, and a trick for adding quality without doubling time. And I can only hope that you will charge for the added quality (even thought it doesn’t take a lot of time) and not drop your personalization fee just because your production speed might even double on those 30 shirts that need 30 different names.

Remember who pays the bills. Remember who made the investment. Remember who put in the time. That’s the person who deserves what is essentially a raise in pay: you

Name drops

It never fails when I talk about my name-drop trick at one of my Printwear Show seminars: Someone’s head drops on the table accompanied by a low moan. “I just did an order of shirts . . . 30 different names . . . why didn’t I think of that?”

Stitching individual names is labor intensive. You should be compensated well for that labor, and if you find a way to speed up the process you should be compensated for being smart enough to implement that. Each name has to be prepared in your software, compensation and underlay determined by the target fabric, whether you are editing a stock font or digitizing your own files. The shirts have to be sorted and attention paid so that the right name goes on the right size. Maybe some require a different color thread.

Now, I don’t pretend to know what capabilities are in your software or on each machine to accomplish quicker name drops. I just know that no matter what you have—or don’t have—this is an easy way to speed up the personalization process on multiple shirts that require different names. If you already know how your software or machine can do this—go for it. If you find out later that you can do it differently, take your choice.

How-to

In your embroidery software, prepare your first name and center it. Prepare your next name (using a different color in the software) and center it right on top of the first name.

Now prepare the next name and use another color in the software or just switch back to the first color.

Keep stacking the names on top of each other, alternating the color used in the software.

I like to stack the names by garment size. This leads to less confusion during the stitching process. I list the names for all the smalls on a piece of paper, stack the names and count the shirts. I then do the same for each size group.

When the names are all prepared, you should have a stack of names in alternating colors. (An unintelligible mess on the screen!) Many software programs allow you to browse the file by color so you can verify that the names are all there.

Load the file into your embroidery machine and select the same needle (color of thread) for the entire file. When the first name sews, the machine will stop. It will be looking for a change in needle for the next color and, not finding it, will pause and wait for instructions. (Check with your machine manufacturer to determine if the machine will stop automatically or if you have to add a command at the machine.)

This is time that you use to take the finished garment off the machine and replace it with the next hooped garment. When the machine is loaded again, you simply press start. The next name will sew and the machine will stop again. Continue to do this until all the shirts are personalized.

Do not re-center the machine or interfere with the process once you have begun. Simply switch garments and re-start. The machine doesn’t know what you are doing; it is simply stitching the file that you prepared. Your needle might not look centered, but if the names are centered on top of each other, each name will start in the correct place. When you do your initial trace (you do trace your designs to make sure they fit in the hoop, don’t you?) the machine should outline the stack of names, all centered, showing, of course, the outline of the widest name.

If you count out your shirts by size, verify the names that go on each size and prepare a file with all the names, you should be able to personalize the shirts by size groups with nary a slip and in a lot less time. And time is money. Your money.

Easy-spin bobbins

I am always on the lookout for time- and labor-saving tools to make embroidery easier and better. It’s all about minding your Qs and Ts: Quality and Time. A recent trip to the fabric store found me wandering the aisles, looking for something to buy with the 50 percent off coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket and nearing its deadline. I found what I didn’t know I was looking for in the quilting department.

It’s called a SideWinder and is manufactured by Wrights. Inside the box is a darling little plastic “suitcase.” You place your thread on the spindle, wind the thread onto the bobbin and push the button to start.

Purchase quality bobbin thread in your choice of colors and you will always be ready to use the same (or close) color bobbin thread on goods that can be seen from both sides—a quality touch we all appreciate.

Your machine should come with metal bobbins (be sure to keep the backlash spring in the bobbin case when using metal bobbins; it acts as a brake on the spin). Your machine should also have an extra spindle and bobbin winder on it—but how much easier is it to simply wind some of your own on the little SideWinder?

And, if you can wind some bobbins for your stash while that long jacket-back design is stitching away on the machine, you will have made your time do double duty—and be ready for a quality presentation from all sides!

The next time you have an afghan to stitch with all the grandchildren’s names (or each branch of the family tree) you can be ready with your SideWinder bobbins and your name stacking expertise. Life is good.

Hug that bottom line

If it is faster, more efficient or offers a step up in quality, it should be calculated in the price. Anything over and above the hourly calculations is “perceived value” or “what the market will bear” (which is driven by that perception of value). Those minutes saved or quality perceptions enhanced should translate into one thing—a raise in pay.

So, while you are offering no-whine personalization on those 200 shirts (because you know how to do it better and faster) and matching bobbin thread on two-sided items, hug your bottom line this month and hold on tight.

—HHM