Happy embroider machine

[Doug S]

We are seriously considering adding embroidering to our business and am looking to buy used.  Is the "Happy" brand reliable?  Do any of you own one or have experience with those?  Just wanting someones input on them.

[Denis Kolar]

Some people are "happy" with them.....

But most of the stories are heard were not good. But then again, most of the stories that are told are the bad ones anyhow.
I might go for the SWF before Happy.

[Gilligan]

The sales guy has been lined up to visit like 3 times... Never shows.  It's a running joke in the shop now. At ISS my guy sent me a pic of the happy flag from there booth as he walked the floor... I had to apologize to who I was talking to at the moment because I literally lol'd when I got the message.

[Prosperi-Tees]

I have been looking at these, probably the same as the happys and a few other machine that are sold in the US, brand new for 8K
http://www.highlandmachines.com/embroidery_machine_1_head.asp

[GraphicDisorder]

I have heard more bad than good, but heard some good.  I would buy a SWF over them, and I think the price is better on SWF if I am not mistaken.

[alan802]

I wish I knew more about embroidery machines but I've been doing more research lately since we'll need to start upgrading some of our equipment in the next few years.  I've spent a few hours with an embroidery consultant and have learned most of what I know from him.  Most of us already know this, but it's Tajima and Barudan, then everyone else.  I don't think buying a Happy would be a mistake, it depends on what you intend to do with it.  Is it going to be the foundation of an operation and running 8 hours a day or is it going to be running a few jobs per week, small quantities?  I think the way you answer those questions will tell you if the Happy machine will be right for you.

If it were my money, I'd strongly look at the older Tajimas.  We have 72 heads, all Tajima, all late 90's and early 2000's models and they all run 5 days a week, 8-10 hours a day and they never stop.  You can't say that about other manufacturers and although Barudan may make a machine as good or better than Tajima today, they weren't as good 10-15 years ago.  I can attest to the Tajimas from 96-2002 as being a very strong foundation to build an embroidery operation on.  I don't know if a new Happy will run trouble free for the next 5 years but I know if you were to buy a 2000-2008 Tajima then it would still be running in 2025 if you take care of it.

[inkman996]

I wish I knew more about embroidery machines but I've been doing more research lately since we'll need to start upgrading some of our equipment in the next few years.  I've spent a few hours with an embroidery consultant and have learned most of what I know from him.  Most of us already know this, but it's Tajima and Barudan, then everyone else.  I don't think buying a Happy would be a mistake, it depends on what you intend to do with it.  Is it going to be the foundation of an operation and running 8 hours a day or is it going to be running a few jobs per week, small quantities?  I think the way you answer those questions will tell you if the Happy machine will be right for you.

If it were my money, I'd strongly look at the older Tajimas.  We have 72 heads, all Tajima, all late 90's and early 2000's models and they all run 5 days a week, 8-10 hours a day and they never stop.  You can't say that about other manufacturers and although Barudan may make a machine as good or better than Tajima today, they weren't as good 10-15 years ago.  I can attest to the Tajimas from 96-2002 as being a very strong foundation to build an embroidery operation on.  I don't know if a new Happy will run trouble free for the next 5 years but I know if you were to buy a 2000-2008 Tajima then it would still be running in 2025 if you take care of it.

90's era Barudans are work horses and still are. Our 12 head is a 97 and never been down once. It has parts replaced and repaired but nothing has rendered the machine non working.

[GraphicDisorder]

I generally get my opinions from our techs, we've had several over time.  Barudan and Tajima are always the two at the top.  Some like the one better than the other but those two are always the top mentioned.  From there its generally SWF next.  I would personally stick to those 3 brands.

I know this, our new Barudan is a amazing machine, way better than the SWF's we have.

[Doug S]

Thanks for all of your opinions.  I think we found a deal on a 2000 Barudan 6 head.  We are just trying to add something to our business so we can drop the signs and just stick to screenprinting and stitching.

[bimmridder]

I can't speak for any brands other than Tajima and ZSK. We had 40 some heads at one time, and both machines were work horses. Ran some of the Tajimas 24/7. My current contract embroiderer uses Melco and gives us great work. I know it's not just the machine, but the machine is a big part of it.

[garagewear]

We sold our Toyota ESP 860 and bought a used 2009 Happy Voyager. The people at TexMac www.happyemb.com were very helpful to us and got us up and going. It is much easier to setup than the Toyota. The key to any embroidery machine is learn how to diagnose it and get it back in production in the event of an error. We chose the Voyager over the 1501. It is 85 lbs vs 400. We can easily take it to an offsite or move it around the shop with no issue. the 2009 does not have the usb flash drive port however it does have a usb cable connect. We have it connected directly to the laptop and can send a design over in about 10 seconds. Can set the needles numbers from the laptop so it is ready to go when we move to the machine. It has a pcmcia card port. I couldn't get any of the adapters I found locally to work and took them back. Called TexMac and they sent me one for about $50 with the flash card and updated firmware. It now has the same firmware and OS as the brand new one and works great. I am looking for a second one now. I would say if you are just getting into it go to one of the training sessions at whatever vendor you choose and get hands on before you plop down money. As for the sales person who wouldn't get back with you I don't know if it was TexMac but they have been good to us in the last year and I didn't even buy the machine from them.

If you are looking at used Voyagers there are 3 different generations of them. You want a Gen 2 or Gen 3. Gen1 has ugly little 3 line lcd and small control panel. Gen2 has Color LCD, Gen3 has Touch Screen. Some of the Gen2 have flash drive port. Gen1 & Gen2 have Voyager name. Gen3 has Voyager2 name. Although they have a plastic shroud they all are actually a cast aluminium frame!

[Prosperi-Tees]

I can't speak for any brands other than Tajima and ZSK. We had 40 some heads at one time, and both machines were work horses. Ran some of the Tajimas 24/7. My current contract embroiderer uses Melco and gives us great work. I know it's not just the machine, but the machine is a big part of it.

I was wondering about Melco. I like that you can start with a single head and when needed you can buy another single head and network them together.

[GaryG]

I wonder if they took the linked units one at a time
from Toyota? Yoyota had that option many moons ago.
We had an old tank of a 830 and was thinking of doing just so,
starting with a newer model and adding as we needed.

I talked to a industry embroidery guru, and he said he did an actual
test with a Tajima (or for that matter any standard 6 head) and six actual
dingle head Toyota's linked together.

When by the linked method- one stitch break happens, ALL others keep going.
Whereas on a standard 6, they all stop. So you'd think linked would be far superior...

Each was ran by one saying mine is better than yours....
Standard 6 head guy said the linked guy was running around like a chicken with
his head cut off here and there fixing thread breaks, frays and such.
The standard 6 won the battle by consistently running with more peace of mind too.

Linked is a neat way to go, although you never hear of them from mid to large size embroiderers.
Maybe so one can do two or three designs at a time, and/or unhook and take to different location.
Each one has to decide for themselves-

It would be nice to hear from a multi-linker out there...