Thanks to Tajima ingenuity - and your own capabilities - you can do more with less. More profit that is, and less room needed in your crowded shop or family room.

That's because Tajima has stepped up the game with new, versatile applications built specifically for its industry-leading line of single head embroidery machines.

Budget has to be the first port of call as, without some clear guidelines here, both you and your prospective supplier are going to struggle. Deciding your spend though might not be as straight forward as you may first think as it will depend on the market you are aiming at. It is no good setting a budget that will restrict you to a single head machine when to fulfil your orders you need a 4 head.

Embroidered badges are not just for the big guys, who produce thousands per day from wide rolls of fabrics. For medium and small embroiderers the advantages of producing badges will give a boost to generate more business.

As part of its commitment to customers and a policy of sourcing new, value adding, garment decorating equipment AJS has added GEMfix, a range of high tech, fully automatic rhinestone setting machines, to its product line up.

Hereford based trade supplier Lewis Print Ltd has seen demand for its embroidery services expand during the first part of the year as director Jimmy Lewis-Humbert explains.

Melco have recently introduced a new model into their range of Amaya embroidery machines, the Amaya Bravo.

At Brother, our sales team deals with quite a few companies who've had requests for embroidered products from their customers and are investigating entering the market. They want to go further than offering a selection of template designs and they need to be able to complete jobs quickly and effectively. They can't take the risk of investing large amounts in heavy-duty equipment and they need some straightforward methodology that will enable them to master this new skill set quickly and enable them to produce impressive results.

Many embroiderers have talked about the issue of customers requesting print files for an embroidery design they have created. Here's a story about how the latest Wilcom software can not only do this, but will give you more business opportunities as well.

Embroidery has long held an aura of mystique and intrigue, a rare craft practiced in a far away land that is both cloistered and impenetrable, cut off from the world of lesser mortals and the uninitiated.

According to Darwin's theory of evolution, only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive, while those less adapted tend to be eliminated.

Leather has always been an important fabric in clothing but it does present its own set of problems. This month we will look at some of them and try to offer some guidance.

Removing oil stains and other marks:

Even though modern machines operate in a cleaner way than the older models there is still a chance that you may get the odd splash of oil on a garment especially just after lubricating your machine. If this happens then you have the choice of throwing that garment away and starting again which, of course, costs you money or cleaning the garment.

BACKING:

A bit of history: This is an odd subject in a way because it is one of those consumable products that everyone uses without really knowing why so that may be a good place to start before going on to the key question of "do you really need to use it"?

There are many issues facing embroidery companies today, so P&P aims to tackle some of the most taxing. This month, printwear expert Tony Whitmore speaks to managing director of Your Embroidery Service, Roy Burton about designing patterns.

Mystery surrounds the release of Your Embroidery Services' latest machines, which look set to be one of the highlights of this year's Printwear and Promotion Exhibition at the NEC next month.

After being in the industry for nearly 50 years, Newport firm J and B knows a thing or two about sewing machines. With a huge range at its disposal, the company seems in fine health.

Embroidery production carried out efficiently can save you £1,000's per year. Many factors contribute to making this process as economic as possible. Area's such as the type of machines you are using, the way designs are created, threads, backing, framing and the organisation of your production room.

There are many ways productivity may be increased, you may look at machines that stitch faster, have more needles or more heads. A new machine that stitches quicker will almost certainly help increase production, but that's an expensive solution to a small problem. There is a far more cost effective way, if you know where to find it.

Even in these troubled times sales of new and used machines are on the increase as more clients discover the benefits of investing in Barudan UK's quality product range, and with the recent addition of Wilcom software, it's looking to be a promising year for the company who celebrates it's 50th anniversary.

Slick Stitch has become one of the first companies to in Europe to put Barudan's latest V series 18 head machines into operation.

Acouple of months ago we brought you a story about how Roy Burton, Managing Director of Your Embroidery Services Ltd., had become increasingly disappointed that training had seemingly disappeared from the embroidery industry.