Search the Community

Hello, we have been screen printing for 5 years and are getting a single head embroidery machine in December. I spent the first 3 years of our screen printing experience testing different inks, mesh counts, etc and while it was great I also wasted a lot of money on the wrong supplies. For our embarkment in the embroidery world I would like to minimize the amount of wasted dollars and thought I would ask here what everyone suggests as far as brands and materials. We will be doing mostly hats and polos as that is what we currently outsource the most of but I am sure there will be other stuff that comes our way. I'm looking to start purchasing supplies over the next few weeks while we work through the purchase process of the machine. What does everyone suggest for threads and needles? I know MADEIRA is the most popular for thread but what is the difference between PolyNeon and Rayon? My apparel supplier (Alpha) also sells Triumph needles but I dont know what the difference between Titanium/Chrome and Universal/Ball Point is. What about backing? Primarily on structured hats, what does everyone suggest? These questions may be vague but I'm not sure where else to start than with the basics. Thanks!