Applique Appeal

The incorporation of appliques within a design has always been a great technique for reducing stitch count and embroidery machine run time. However there are times when it is in fashion and others where it popularity wanes a lttle bit. Right now these are quite a few factors that have caused its popularity to soar.
First of all Laser cutters, both independent and beam lasers which work directly on the machine have sped up the process and made it much more automated.
The wide availablity of applique fabrics and cutting services and lower minimums have made apllque easily available to every embroiderer.
The availablily of knowledge of the technique, through magazines, websites and from manufacturers has make the process much less daunting.
There is also the comfort factor. Many customers find appliques designs more comfortable to wear than designs that are solely embroidered.
There is also sophisticated software offerered to automate the digitizing of appliques and to generate cut lines for laser or other cutting machines.
Last, it is in fashion right now so customers are asking for it. So, if you haven't offered applique up to this point now might be the ideal time.

The auto-trace feature in D.I.S.C. Gold digitizing, editing and lettering program allows you to automatically trace any scanned image and simultaniously reduce the colors necessary to reproduce that image in embroidery. This function frees up you time so that you can focus in on the more creative aspects of embroidery creation, such as density, stitch direction and type.

D.I.S.C. Gold Version 3.2

Capped Corner









Overlapped Corner










Mitered Corner

Standard Corner

D.I.S.C. Gold Version 3.2 is a full digitizing software that combines Digitizing, Editing, Lettering, Designs Management and many other features in a complete user friendly environment.

it allows you to automatically digitize vector images or to manually digitize your own designs, and has all of the features of all of the major professional digitizing programs at a fraction of the price.

One of those features is a choice of cornering options.

When you are digitizing a column stitch and you have to turn it at an accute angle you can run into a couple of problems. One is a build up of stitches on he inside of the angle, which can cause both thread breaks and actually bore a hole in the garment. The other is extremely long stitches which will look unsightly and also tend to get caught and break. To solve these problems we give you four different cornering options. The four cornering options illustrated above are: standard, mitered, capped and overlapping. While the standard cornering option is usually the preferable choice, you will run into situations where you will need to opt for one of the other choices.

Understanding Embroidery Profitabilty

Retail / Home Production Cost Analysis

How Much Money Can You Earn With a Ricoma?

While there are other factors which may come into play when you start your business and pick the market niche you wish to serve, below we have outlined the basic formula for calculating you daily embroidery profit.

Number of Heads
Cost
1 2 4 6
1 Day Labor ($9.00/hr. x 8 hours)
$72.00 $72.00 $72.00 $72.00
Average machine cost with software
$12,500 $18,500 $26,500 $35,500
Monthly Payment (60 months @ 10%)
$266 $393 $563 $755
Daily Payment (Monthly payment / 30 Days)
$12.09 $17.86 $25.59 $34.31
Daily Labor + Machine Payment
$84.09 $89.86 $97.59 $106.31

Production
1 2 4 6
Time it takes to sew an average design. (6,000 stitch pattern 3-colors @ 700 stitches per minute) The average corporate logo will be about 3000-5000 stitches. Top machine speed is usually 1200 stitches per minute. Time is allotted for re-loading the garment onto the machine and the extra time it takes for the machine to trim the thread and change colors.
9.6 min 10.1 min 10.6 min 11.1 min

Results
1 2 4 6
Total items produced in one day. (420 minutes (7 hours) divided by time for 1 item)
43.75 83.16 158.48 227.00
Production Cost/Item (One days operation cost divided by items produced, including .04 per item for thread & backing)
$1.96 $1.12 $0.65 $0.50

Retail Pricing
1 2 4 6
Total items produced in one day. (420 minutes (7 hours) divided by time for 1 item)
43.75 83.16 158.48 227.00
Production Cost/Item (One days operation cost divided by items produced, including .04 per item for thread & backing)
$1.96 $1.12 $0.65 $0.50

Retail Pricing
1 2 4 6
Embroidery Profit (6000 stitches x .80 per 1000 x daily production less production cost) Retail pricing will vary depending on location and customer. We took a good average of this criteria and came up with .80 per 1000 stitches.
$124.25 $306.02 $657.69 $976.10

Total Daily Profit
1 2 4 6

HatsCost = $3Retail = $13Profit = $10 + Embroidery.
$554 $1,136 $2,237 $3,246

Polo ShirtsCost = $8Retail = $24Profit = $16 + Embroidery.
$812 $1,634 $3,185 $4,608

JacketsCost = $28Retail = $55Profit = $27 + Embroidery.
$1,285 $2,547 $4,923 $7,105

Note: Above garment profits will be reduced for large orders and/or to compete with other embroiderers.

Mark these ideas on your calendar today, and all year long you will get a head start on your monthly promotions.

January - White sale, ski equipment, sweaters, turtlenecks, winter wear

February - Washington’s Birthday, Lincoln’s Birthday, Valentine’s Day

March - St. Patrick’s Day, Easter wear, baby items

April - Luggage promotion, canvas tote bags, team uniforms, school fund Raisers.

May - Mother’s Day, robes, aprons

June - Graduation, wedding, Father’s Day (men’s shirt and tie Monogramming)

July - Beach wear, towels, terry robes

August - Back-to-school, totes, backs packs, school jackets, baseball hats

September - School and church fund raisers

October - Halloween

November - Linens for Thanksgiving and the Holidays

December - Time to have customers thinking about Christmas gifts

All Year Long

Corporate Accounts - Product launches, promotional itemsLocal Businesses - Employee work wearSports Teams - Team strips, Baseball caps, Merchandising items

How To Speak Embroiderese

You have started an embroidery business, your machine has been installed, you have learned the basics of your software, you open your doors and you are ready to go.

However, are you ready to competently explain your offerings? There is sometimes a language barrier when communicating with your customer, in both understanding and using the proper embroidery terms. In an effort to help you jump over this common hurdle we have published a glossary of embroidery terms on our website at http://www.ricoma.us/embroidery_glossary.cfm

So before you rush in and conquer you might want to scan this very helpful list of terms so you can go out swinging fully prepared for any situation.

Chenille is a specialized sector of the embroidery industry, and as such can be much more profitable than standard embroidery. Corporations, schools, teams, fashion designers, organizations, fraternities, sororities, clubs, individuals, movie studios, Grand Prix and Motorcross, pop and country music stars, and sporting goods team dealers all use chenille embroidery and the demands are greater than the services available. Whether you are an embroiderer who is ready to expand their business or a screenprinter or ad specialty distributor who feels it is time to bring chenille embroidery in-house, we have the perfect model for you. Feel free to visit our website http://www.ricoma.us/ or to contact one of our highly trained salespersons so we may answer any questions regarding our multi-function technology. And again, don’t forget to ask about our special lease programs available now and take advantage of the lowest interest rates in history!!!

FC1201-SQ-6L
This unique multi-function model will give you the ability to create 12 color standard embroidery combined with 6 color chenille at an incredibly affordable price. Sleek design and finish with state of the art features and technology.

Special Multi-function Chenille FC1201-SQ-6L
12 Color standard embroidery
6 color Chenille
Sequin
Flat and Tubular sewing