Embroidering our First CAP ORDERS! Ricoma 1501-TC Affordable Embroidery Machine Ricoma RCM-1501TC-7S

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

We've been putting our machine to work!

[@easternshorescreenprinting5426]

Keep killin it!

[@ramonthecholo1097]

Awesome job. Circles on dad caps are hard to get right because the want to go all over the place and it looks like you hit it right. Quick tip: for 5 panel hats with a stiff seam, roll a dowel over the seam soften it up a little. Also try using a titanium needle. I'll be watching and I want to see you do well. Raider Nation!

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thanks for the tip! You're right about that. Definitely had to keep an eye on the tightness doing those circles.

[@Worldstarboricua]

Can you make a video doing the side of the cap I wanna know if it gonna b in the center

[@Mk-hq2gc]

Can this machine be used for t shirt, beanies, and hats at the same time?

[@leonardo29098]

proud of you. u have been a good inspiration.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thank you!

[@mariaarenas1818]

Hello I purchased the same machine and it’s coming tomorrow does th patches for the hat come with the shipment ? if not where can I purchase them

[@StoversMotors]

Glad to see y’all gettin it going!!

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

We've been putting it to work that's for sure.

[@SCUUBDO]

Super coolio!! I use Titanium needles.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Great tip!

[@ashleycarrasco5116]

Do you have an update on how your liking it? Looking at purchasing one this week..

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

We love it! We have been running it non stop.

[@coveredwagonpromotions9482]

Quality is all in the digitizing. I've been doing it for over 30 years. Are you sourcing your digitizing overseas? You should start learning and do it yourself, or kind a good quality US-based digitizer.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

You're absolutely right! We've been outsourcing to a digitizer here in the USA. They do great work, but I would much rather learn the process myself.

[@coveredwagonpromotions9482]

@@mikeydesignssilkscreen473 yeah there’s a lot to learn. Not so easy as people think. I recommend Wilcom.

[@uriel11ful]

I would outsource the digitizing and just make edits with the wilcom software. I find it the best because doing the object outlines is too time consuming and rather pay someone $5 to $10. Then I would just make edits like the sequencing, editing the stitch density, underlay, fill angles and pull compensation. specifically for what you will embroider.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

@@uriel11ful Definitely! Knowing what to keep an eye out for when it comes to digitizing and being able to digitize is a skill worth learning.s

[@uriel11ful]

Mikey Designs & Silk Screen Yes! Digitizing correctly is so important if you want to produce a quality product. I have learned many little things about digitizing that has made my quality very good. If you ever need any help let me know.

[@HeartHustlePrinting]

Good stuff

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thank you!

[@superteeprints371]

great video matt caps look awesome great job

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thank you!

[@leviteapparel]

Mat your pic of the Ricoma is creating a click bate I could not stop myself from clicking on that beautiful Ricoma machine. Lol Good job!!!

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

LOL! Thanks!

[@grenadianempire7555]

Does the ricoma machine overheats?

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Overheat? We haven't had any issues and we run it all day long.

[@printittowinit]

The hats came out great. Does that machine understand PXF format or is it just DST?

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thanks! I'll have to check on the PXF. We've just been loading in DSTs for now.

[@berlingray8058]

Hi! I have a Ricoma 1501 also, how were you able to embroider that large circle design without the rectangle embroidery restricted area on the screen?

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

You can enlarge the area without it affecting it, but generally we don't go any larger than 2.25" on designs.

[@bagwear8689]

Greeeeeat video Matt

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Thanks, Karen!

[@minakshichannel8624]

Nice what price?

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Depends osn the model, but ours was right at 12k.

[@marcocastaneda2434]

Please software emb link to ricoma

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

shop.ricoma.com?referral=matthew-chevalier

[@jessiegibson9023]

Good video thanks

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@justbeingreal8838]

Hey Mikey! I’ve been following you since 2014 when I first opened my screen printing shop. Now looking into embroidery. I’m asking your honest opinion on this Ricoma unit as I’m hearing some bad things about it versus the Melco EMT16X. I trust your opinion.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Hey! Sounds like you've been following along for the whole journey. Thus far, we've had nothing but a great experience with our Ricoma. From the staff, customer service, how quickly it was delivered and how easy it was to get up and going. I have been running our machine nonstop since it's arrived. All machines require some maintenance, and troubleshooting. Just part of owning a piece of equipment. There's another small shop here in town, guy named Martin... I believe his business is called Space City Prints. He has the same machine. Might want to look him up as well to get his feedback too. The thing that turned me off to Melco was the fact you have to have a separate computer to run the machine. Another expense when you have a shop full of Macintosh computers. As far as the negative feedback about Ricoma... could be the fact it's easy to get financed, and is very appealing way to start a business. And who knows, maybe a lot of the people getting into embroidery, starting out with an embroidery machine just aren't up for what's involved. Kind of like screen printing. How many times do you see a press go up for sale because they give up or they bit off more than they can chew? I can honestly say that I've seen other machines run and their quality. Ours has performed just as well, if not better. All comes down to the man, not the machine. One of my buddies has a (won't say the name of the brand), and the thing is loud... lol... kind of sounds like a can of rocks. Very reputable company too, and they've had issues where a tech was required to come out and fix the thing. Not to mention it wouldn't do some satin stitches ours could. I know this was long winded, but IMO, most bad feedback to me seems like it's the operator, not the machine.

[@bribnkr13]

Dad caps will always be a pain in the butt to hoop especially for logos that need to be symmetrical on either side of the seam. It’s not just the way you hoop them though, they aren’t made perfect, so centered at the bottom seam won’t necessarily be centered at the top. It’s nearly impossible to have them all perfect across a large order. Don’t beat yourself up, most customers are understanding if you can explain to them the imperfection of the caps.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

They sure are! Just not a lot of support there. Great thing is I have some dad caps to do this weekend. lol. Thanks for confirming I'm not crazy lol.

[@bribnkr13]

@@mikeydesignssilkscreen473 you’re welcome! I’ve been running an embroidery shop for going on 12 years so I’ve seen it all! I know how frustrating it can be.

[@rnbartworks5953]

🥰🥰🥰

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

:)

[@uriel11ful]

Should have bought a barudan or tajima and you wouldn’t have that many problems with needle breaks. The Ricoma do not have good presser foot technology.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

I appreciate your opinion. We've outsourced caps to vendors that have other brands. The quality of their embroidery, to be honest, hasn't been near as good as what we have been producing with our Ricoma. IMO, any machine we've had, issues come up, but it's the operator / decorator that makes the difference. We've produced quality prints with an antiquated TUF press that not many people could produce even on a (insert your go to brand here). I would get, v squeegees suck this, and that... Technique, patience, and how you go about resolving those issues makes a huge difference.

[@uriel11ful]

Mikey Designs & Silk Screen. You just haven’t worked with the right People that have barudan or tajimas. Digitizing is key!! And that what most companies lack in. You can produce great quality with most machines if you have great digitizing. The thing I don’t like about Ricoma is they are not that good of a machine quality wise. I have a six head barudan and will be buying another because they are workhorses and have not had needle breaks or thread breaks or issues since I bought it and mostly all my jobs are Richardson 112 caps. I can start my machine at the very bottom of the cap in the dead center and my needles won’t break like they do on the Ricomas.

[@uriel11ful]

Mikey Designs & Silk Screen if you broke needles now, you will be breaking needles for the life of the machine.

[@uriel11ful]

Mikey Designs & Silk Screen but thanks for responding with your perspective. I just wanted to let you know from experience.

[@christopherweaver2346]

Good morning...Git er dun✌️

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

Good morning!!! Gettin' after it!

[@computergi]

Do you do your own digitizing or who do you use? Id love to know a good Texas contact if you have one.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

I have been using ignitiondrawing.com until I get the hang of digitizing. I've digitized some of our embroidery but I'm still learning.

[@computergi]

We bought Chroma from Ricoma but knowing what I know now Spend your money on Hatch Wilcom. It’s the industry standard and I hope to switch over sometime next year. Great channel by the way!

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

@@computergi Thank you! I'll take a look into it. We have the free version of Chroma that came with it.

[@uriel11ful]

computergi don’t get hatch. Get Wilcom embroidery studio. It is much better and more flexible. It’s expensive but worth it.

[@mikeydesignssilkscreen473]

@@uriel11ful I hear that. I'll have to give it a shot. I'm not shy to put down money on worthwhile software.