Whether you’re buying your first industrial embroidery machine or upgrading to a larger one as your business grows, you need to consider the cost of an embroidery machine. And that doesn’t just mean the price point of the machine that you’re looking to invest in.
Sure, the machinery itself is one of the biggest costs but there are various other factors that you must consider before investing. You need to consider your capacity, the size of your business and your operational space – to name a few.
If you’re wondering what you need to consider to work out the total overall cost of an industrial embroidery machine, we’ve got you covered. This post will outline and discuss everything you should consider before buying. After all, it’s a big decision, so you shouldn’t take it lightly.
The considerations that we’ll cover are:
Size of Business
It goes without saying, the larger and more established your embroidery business is, the less likely you’ll be worried about the cost of the machines. They’re quite the investment and will make up for the majority of your business’ monthly outgoings.
This is why you need to consider the size of your business before investing in a commercial embroidery machine. For example, if you’re a small business, you’re not going to need a multi-head embroidery machine that’s suitable for a global enterprise company, are you?
Or vice versa. A large company simply wouldn’t be able to deal with their customer demands and needs on a machine that’s suitable for a start-up. The business would end up extending order processing and wait times, which would, in turn, deter people from working with the business. Ending up costing the business both financially and their reputation too.
Smaller businesses would be silly to buy a machine that’s too big for them. As we’ve mentioned, they’re quite the investment, so it’s a lot of money to part with if you’re not going to use the machine to its full capabilities. Whilst it’s good to bear growth in mind, you’d be throwing money away that you don’t necessarily have if you upsize too quickly.
If you don’t know where to start, it can be tricky to know which machines are best suited to what size businesses. So, here are the best commercial embroidery machines for your business.
Scope for Capacity
If your machine isn’t working to its absolute capacity and you’re actively looking to upgrade it, do you actually need to upgrade it? Or are you making unnecessary costs for yourself? If you have the capacity to carry out more orders on your machine, then there’s no point in buying another. You’ll only be extending the room for capacity and therefore wasting money.
That being said, you don’t want your workforce or machines to be working to their absolute capacity 24/7. Not that they’re not designed to be working as hard as they can all the time but what if there was a mistake in a job? Or a last-minute priority emergency came in and you had to turn away business?
We recommend that you leave a little leeway should this happen – but not too much that you’re going to be wasting money unnecessarily.
On the contrary, if you can’t get the orders out quick enough and need to start producing your products quicker, then you’re going to need to upgrade your machine. If you don’t, you could be costing your business valuable custom. Plus, how can you expect to grow if you’re constantly staying at the same level of capacity?
Design and Creative Freedom
The level of design you’ll need your machine to be able to perform completely depends upon how detailed your designs are. If you’re wanting to create intricate, colourful patterns you’ll need to buy a machine that is equipped with multi-needles and advanced functionalities – as opposed to one that’s suitable for very basic designs.
Obviously, because they can create far more advanced designs than basic ones, their price point is higher. So, if you don’t need the functionalities and capabilities to carry out these designs, then there’s no point in investing in one that can.
Wide area machines provide businesses with the largest surface area to get creative with their designs. With multiple needles to you can add a large range of colour to your designs and really bring them to life.
Your Budget Limits
Every purchase that a business makes has to adhere to the budget that’s been allocated to it. Setting a budget is incredibly important, you don’t want to jeopardise the rest of your business operations just so you can buy a top of the range machine that you won’t use to its full potential, do you?
You need to stick to your budget and purchase within your means. There are plenty of different options on the market that are more than suitable for a wide variety of businesses. Especially with HappyJapan, they’re experts in providing top-quality commercial embroidery machines that are not only reliable and built to last, but they ultra-powerful and can help any business go from strength to strength.
Obviously, the more heads that a machine has, the higher the price point is going to be. So, when you’re setting your budget, make sure you take into account your production levels and don’t forget to think about your growth potential too.
Business Output Levels
Your customers wants and needs will determine your business’ output levels. Is your embroidery machine costing your output to suffer? If you’re operating on a machine that is too small to cope with your current orders, then the chances are that it is. And if it is, that can be costing your business massively.
This’ll mean that orders aren’t being turned around quickly and you’ll be keeping your customers waiting. In turn, your customers won’t be happy and may end up resorting to going elsewhere in the future. Plus, they’ll be unlikely to recommend your business too, which is going to damage your reputation overall – and these are hard to reverse.
If your machine is coping with your business’ output levels just fine, then you don’t need to upgrade it – unless it’s broken, of course. There’s no point in buying a new machine for the sake of it, this is an unnecessary cost. Plus, as we’ve mentioned, they’re an expensive investment, so you won’t want to make it unless you absolutely have to.
Size of Operational Space
As your company grows, you’ll be facing more and more demand from your customers. Which means that you’re going to have to produce a higher number of products. So, you’re going to need a bigger machine to cope with the upscaling.
You need to consider whether you’ve got the room in your current operational space for a bigger machine. And not just the machine too. With more products being produced, you need somewhere to store them before they’re out for delivery. You also need somewhere to keep all the raw materials as well.
You may end up needing to relocate your business, which means your overheads may end up increasing as a result of buying a new embroidery machine. There’s no point in investing in a brand new embroidery machine to cope with an increase in demand if your facilities can’t replicate this scalability.
Any Other Equipment Used
When you’re looking for a new machine, it can be easy to forget about the rest of your business as it’s your most valuable asset. Your embroidery machines aren’t the only pieces of equipment that your business needs to operate successfully, so don’t go too overboard with the budget.
You’ll need a wide range of materials to produce your products. And the most efficient businesses operate by stockpiling their materials so that they’re ready and waiting to go as and when ordered. It all depends on your budget and the range of products that you have on offer to your customers.
Items that are popular within the embroidery industry are:
- Caps
- T-Shirts
- Polo Shirts
- Shirts
- Jackets
- Sweatshirts
For your designs, you’ll need access to a computer and a printer too. For those intricate and advanced designs, you’ll need to use software too. These are all extra costs that you need to be aware of when buying an embroidery machine.
Buying Used Machines
One way to keep the cost down when buying a new machine is by buying second-hand ones. You may feel like the previous owner has got the best out of the machine, but you’d be wrong to think like that. These machines are built to last.
Make sure that you can trust the person that you’re buying a used machine from. They might list that it’s in amazing condition and full working order, only for you to turn up and view it and come away with a list full of problems.
Ensure that You Buy The Right Machine For Your Business
So, now that you’re aware of all the considerations you should take when looking at the cost of an embroidery machine, you now need to focus on getting the right one for your business. The right machine can help your business grow rapidly, but the wrong one can leave your company stagnating and plateauing. And nobody wants that.
To help you with your decision, we’ve created a free comparison which shows which machine is suited best to your business. Download your copy today.