Quality embroidery work is an important part of any business or organization that wants to make a great first impression. Whether you’re looking for custom apparel, promotional products, or corporate gifts and awards – having the right contract embroidery service can be essential. But how do you know which one to choose?

We are here to help! In this article we will provide 10 tips for choosing the right contract embroidery service so that your project turns out looking perfect every time. From understanding their capabilities and pricing structure, to evaluating quality samples and checking references - these guidelines will ensure your needs are met with superior results.

No matter what type of product you need customized, finding the best contract embroidery service doesn’t have to be difficult. Read on to learn more about making the most informed decision when selecting a provider for all your contract embroidering needs!

1. Research Your Options

With the popularity of custom embroidery growing, it's no wonder that there are more contract services than ever before. In fact, a recent survey found that nearly half of all businesses had used some form of custom embroidery in their marketing efforts. When faced with so many options, it can be difficult to find the right one for your needs.

The key is to take time to research each potential service provider thoroughly. Investigate their track record and reviews from other customers. Ask around for recommendations from those you know and trust who have experience with these types of services. Be sure to read up on any specialties or certifications they may hold too; this will help ensure that you get quality workmanship at a price that fits within your budget.

2. Review Quality Of Samples

Choosing the right contract embroidery service is a tricky decision. You'll want to make sure you get it right to ensure your project turns out just as you envisioned. How can you know if the service you're considering will do quality work? It's time to review their samples and find out!

It's essential that the sample show good detail, stitching consistency, thread colors that match what was requested, and accurate placement of the design on the garment or item. Here are four things to look for when evaluating an embroidered sample:
1) The level of detail in each stitch;
2) Whether the stitches line up correctly;
3) That all colors are represented accurately; and
4) If there is any puckering or bubbling around areas with tight stitching.
If these criteria meet your standards, then this company may be worth further consideration.
Next up is checking turnaround times – how quickly can they complete a job?

 3. Check Embroidery Turnaround Times

Finding the perfect contract embroidery service can be a daunting task. However, it doesn't have to be if you take time to research and consider your options carefully. One of the most important things when choosing an embroidery service is checking their turnaround times.

How soon do they need to get your job done? Can they meet tight deadlines without compromising on quality? These are all questions that must be considered before settling on any one provider. It's worth asking them for examples of previous jobs so you can gauge how quickly they work and what sort of results they deliver. If timelines aren't met, then this could mean costly delays or unhappy customers; making sure these don't happen should always be top priority.

4. Ask About Fabric Types

When selecting an embroidery service, it's important to ask about the types of fabrics they can handle. You'll want to make sure they are able to work with your desired material or else you could be disappointed in the finished product.

Different fabric types require different thread and stabilizing materials. Additionally, some fabrics may need a higher stitch count than others or even multiple layers of stitching for stability. Ask if there is any kind of special preparation needed before stitching on certain fabrics so that you won't have issues down the road.

TIP: Test out a few samples from each potential provider to get a feel for their quality and turnaround times for yourself! Compare them side by side and then decide which one fits best with your needs as far as fabric selection goes.

5. Consider Cost And Volume

Choosing the right contract embroidery service can be like navigating a minefield. You must consider cost and volume to ensure you get the best deal for your needs. It’s important to do research ahead of time, so nothing catches you off guard during negotiations.

Cost is an essential factor in choosing a contract embroidery service. Consider what you are willing to pay for quality workmanship, as well as how much quantity you need from the supplier. Ask about discounts or special offers that may be available depending on how many items you order at once. Also inquire if they offer any flexible payment plans which could help bring down costs even further. Additionally, research other vendors to compare prices and services offered before making any commitments with one provider.

By taking into account both cost and volume requirements when selecting an embroiderer, it’ll help ensure that your project meets its budget while also delivering high-quality results - setting up a successful collaboration between vendor and customer alike!

6. Check References

Now that you have considered cost and volume, it's important to check references. Talk to the business' previous clients or read online reviews to get a better idea of their services. Request samples of any work they’ve done in the past if possible. This will provide insight into what kind of results you can expect from them with your job.

It is also good to ask questions about turnaround time and communication during the project as well. A reputable contract embroidery service should be able to answer all these questions for you confidently, providing an indication that they are professionals who take pride in their workmanship. Moving forward, look at how much experience this particular service has in contract embroidery.

7. Look At Contract Embroidery Experience

Most importantly, you should ensure that the contract embroidery service provider has a good amount of experience in the field. It’s important to find out how long they have been providing this type of service and what their previous clients think about them. Ask for references from other companies who have used their services before so that you can get an idea of their quality of work.

It's also beneficial to ask if the company uses up-to-date software for its production process and if it is able to provide any custom designs or patterns based on your requests. This will give you further assurance that the chosen contract embroidery service provider is able to deliver exactly what you are looking for. Being able to determine flexibility with software will help ensure that your project turns out as expected.

 8. Determine Software Flexibility

The decision to choose the right contract embroidery service can be overwhelming, but one key factor is software flexibility. In fact, over 90% of businesses use specialized embroidery software for their projects. It's important to determine if the contract embroidery service you're considering uses a flexible enough system that allows them to work with various designs and customization requests. A reliable provider should have both high-quality digitizing capabilities as well as an easy-to-use interface so that they can quickly respond to your needs without any hassle.

Additionally, it’s essential to ask about how many machines are in operation at the facility and what types of materials or fabrics they are able to accommodate. Knowing this information will help ensure that your project runs smoothly from start to finish, allowing you to get the most out of your investment. Asking questions like these will also give you a better understanding of the production process and identify potential problems before they arise so you can make sure everything goes according to plan.

9. Familiarize Yourself With Production Process

It's essential to consider the production process when selecting a contract embroidery service. Just as important as software flexibility, understanding how the production of your custom apparel will be handled is key for success. Moreover, familiarizing yourself with the steps involved in creating your items can help ensure they'll meet expectations.

From threading machines and prepping fabric to inspecting products and packing orders, each step should be accounted for. Knowing what kind of equipment is used and if any automation or technology are available helps you accurately measure quality control and turnaround time — two critical components that influence customer satisfaction.
Now it’s time to discuss delivery and shipping options.

10. Discuss Delivery And Shipping Options

Preparing for a contract embroidery project is like walking through an obstacle course - it requires the right strategy and planning. And when it comes to discussing delivery and shipping options, you'll want to take your time to ensure everything goes smoothly. Here are just some of the things you need to consider:

• Researching what types of courier services or postal companies offer the best rates
• Taking into consideration any extra packaging costs that may arise
• Making sure they have a reliable means of tracking shipments

It's important to keep these considerations in mind as you work with your chosen service provider on ensuring that your products arrive at their destination on time and within budget. You should also make sure that both parties agree on the specified timelines and payment terms before signing off on anything. After all, having clarity around expectations will help avoid any potential misunderstandings down the line.

Conclusion

Choosing the right contract embroidery service is a daunting task, but it’s an important one. From reviewing samples to determining turnaround times and discussing delivery options, there are many factors that should be taken into consideration before making your final decision. By taking the time to explore each of these 10 tips for choosing the right contract embroidery service, you can ensure that you have all the information needed to make an informed choice.

For example, if you own a business selling custom hats with personalized designs, selecting a high-quality fabric type that meets your budget needs is essential. After all, no matter how beautiful or intricate the design may be, subpar material will detract from its overall appeal. Being aware of this detail ahead of time allows you to ask questions about fabric types upfront so that your end product looks exactly as desired.

At the end of the day, investing in quality materials and services when it comes to contract embroidery pays off. A carefully selected provider not only ensures customer satisfaction but also speaks volumes about your brand's attention to detail and commitment to excellence – both of which help create lifelong customers who trust and advocate for your products or services.

​Jiffy Shirts is a reputable reseller of Sanmar apparel with margins of 40% on most of their product they dropship. Jiffy Shirts uses Sanmar's warehouses throughout the country to expedite shipments of shirts. Many craft and home businesses use Jiffy Shirt to purchase t-shirts and hoodies to decorate as a hobby to sell to their local church and PTA committee. The reviews on the Jiffy Shirt website rank it at over 4.8 stars with 30,000 primarily positive reviews. 

​Jiffy shirts use Sanmar's warehouses in the following cities; Seattle, Reno, Dallas, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, FL, and Phoenix. It would help if you remembered the time zones of each warehouse so you can meet their shipping cutoff times for same-day ships. 

​Seattle:  4 pm 
Reno, Nevada: 4 pm 
Cincinnati: 4 pm
New Jersey: 4 pm
Dallas: 4 pm
Florida: 4 pm
Minneapolis: 4 pm
Phoenix: 4 pm

​PC61 Tshirt: $4.73 Jiffy and Sanmar $3.41
PC90H Hoodie: $21.27 Jiffy and Sanmar: $14.62
Jiffy shirt provides convenience for someone who doesn't have an account with Sanmar.

​Pricing your embroidered apparel with a pricing matrix allows you to increase your profit percentage on lower cost items such as t-shirts and baseball caps. The matrix will allow you to say price competitive on higher cost products such as North Face Jackets. An example is when you sell a t-shirt for $8.00 (cost is $2.00) you are making 75% margin($6.00 /$8.00) *100 = 75%. You are making a high profit percentage on this t-shirt. 

​Let's look at the North Face Jacket that you sell for $90.00 and the cost is  $50.00 you are making a 44% margin. ($40.00/$90.00)*100 = 44%. You are making a $40.00 profit which is way more than the $6.00 profit on the t-shirt with a margin of 75%.

​You wouldn't be price competitive if you sold the North Face Jacket at a 75% margin. $50.00/(1-.75) = $200.00 selling price. You need to have different margins based on the cost of the item.

​If you are adding the embroidery to the items you need to include your decoration costs and the quantity you are embroidering. Let's say we are selling 12 t-shirts. The embroidery selling price is $8.00 with a $4.00 cost per item. 

As you can see you will make more money by doing the same amount of embroidery work by selling higher priced North Face jackets.  Remember when you will have to decrease your margin percentage to stay competitive in the marketplace. "Work smarter not harder."

​The benefits of embroidery are that it gives an elegant finish and screams quality when stitching a company's logo. Embroidery operators find personal satisfaction while stitching a clean, crisp logo and seeing the customer smile. Embroidery operators must possess hand-eye coordination to take a thread and insert it through the embroidery needle. Our operators find stitching healing and allow them to relax and get their minds off of everyday stress. Operators have also mentioned it builds confidence, improves eyesight, and reduces anxiety. 

​Embroidery is applied with a needle and thread, limiting the design's small detail. Owner Jim Mickelson says, "If you can draw it with a Sharpie felt tip pen, we can embroider it." The left chest logo position is the most popular embroidery location. It is on the left chest because when shaking hands with a customer, they will be able to read your logo. The left chest design is usually 2" tall and 4" wide, making it able to be viewed from 3 to 5 feet away. Embroidery isn't the best option for items you can't frame a circular embroidery hoop. Troublesome embroidery items include backpacks with zippers, polo shirts with a pocket, jackets with seams running down the back, and any lightweight fabric, making securing a stitch impossible. 

​Embroidery's pricing unit is based on the "stitch count" in a design. Generally, an embroidery machine can stitch 550 stitches per minute. Multi-head embroidery machines can have different heads, from one to 12 sewing heads, making larger embroidery machines more efficient and pricing lower. A typical left chest embroidery logo has 8,000 stitches and 3 thread colors and is the optimal design for an embroidery machine to be productive. Pricing embroidery is based on the number of stitches, machine speed, labor rate, and factory overhead. For example, if you know your factory rate is $100.00 per hour, use an 8-head embroidery machine and can produce 16 logos per hour. The calculation would be $100.00/16 = $6.25 per logo. I also suggest taking the worst-case production rate and dividing it into the factory costs, so you can factor in the operator's bathroom breaks, inefficiencies, and machine problems. To be safe on the above calculation, I would say the hourly rate is 12 units, which would increase the cost to $8.33 per logo

​Monogramming shirts using embroidery takes a lot of time since you can only do 1 personalized name at a time. I have seen so many shops price personalization too cheaply. You need to think hourly factory rate again at $100.00 per hour. Operators can stitch 6 monograms per hour on average, which is not a very good production rate. Once again, divide your $100.00 shop rate into your units per hour; $100.00/6 units = $16.66. You probably think, "I could never charge that to my customer."  When you have a loyal customer base and provide excellent service and products, the price doesn't even come up in discussion. 

​The question, "Is embroidery profitable?" is not a clear-cut answer due to many factors I will explain. Many people get into the embroidery business because they know many people and belong to organizations such as the PTA, churches, kid's baseball league, and civic groups. These organizations are a great starting place to sell your embroidery, but what happens when you are finished selling to them and need customers for the next 8 months? Newbies should create a business plan that consistently brings in monthly orders. I know your eyes are seeing dollar signs, but you need a solid marketing program to keep the embroidery orders rolling to stay profitable. An embroider starting out with a marketing plan, business fortitude, and doing everything correctly could see a $30,000 profit at year's end. 

​If I haven't yet scared you away about joining the embroidery industry, please keep reading about how to purchase an embroidery machine. Our factory at Northwest Custom Apparel uses 100% Tajima embroidery machines, and we have been using Tajima embroidery machines since 1977. When purchasing your first embroidery machine, you need to determine how many embroidery heads you need to be profitable. A single-head machine is for the hobbyist that works out of a bedroom and stitches for friends and family. I will focus on the multi-head embroidery machines with 4,6,8 and 12 embroidery heads that will make you profitable. There are several different manufacturers of embroidery machines, and the popular ones in the United States are Tajima and Barudan. I prefer Tajima due to its durability, uptime, and low maintenance costs. Hirsch is the distributor of Tajima in the United States, and I suggest you talk to Kris Janowski, the Vice-President, and remember to tell Kris, "Northwest Embroidery sent me." 

​We started digitizing in 1977 using jacquard punch tapes and a digitizing board where an 8,000 stitch logo could take all day to punch. We have gone through the struggles in the early years of punching embroidery tapes. Technology has evolved, and digitizing is simple with the correct digitizing software. Our preferred digitizing software is Wilcom, which is user-friendly and has enough bells and whistles to keep the professional digitizer happy. Wilcom is worth its price with the increase in productivity and the quality of stitching and is a must-have for a beginner embroider. There are free copies of embroidery software out on the internet by just doing a Google search "Free embroidery software download." Due to the glitches and lack of technical support on the free digitizing software, I do not recommend this digitizing route. Another suggestion is contracting your digitized designs to a professional digitizing company with low cost, quick turnaround, and fantastic quality. You will then ask, "the digitizers are in India, and their quality is horrible," which is the opposite since they digitize 8-10 hours a day, 6 days a week, and are graded by their quality of work. The company we use for our digitizing is www.qdigitizing.com, and the contact is Steve Freeman, who has been a US digitizer for over 30 years. 

​Embroidery thread is available from a plethora of manufacturers all over the world. I suggest you pick a thread supplier that is US based and has longevity in the thread industry. Since 1977, Northwest Embroidery has used Robison Anton thread for its vast inventory of thread types and colors. Madeira embroidery thread is our second choice when Robison Anton doesn't offer what a customer is requesting. Once you pick a thread supplier, stick with the supplier and form a long-term business relationship because there will be a day you are in a pinch and need a special favor. 

​As people tell you, the embroidery industry is not always lucrative and easy; however, with a marketing plan, you will be more successful than 80% of the other embroiders. Keep your head up and chest back and always stay positive, and you will one day have a profitable embroidery business. Erik Mickelson is available to answer your questions about starting your new embroidery adventure, and feel free to reach out to me. 

​How to qualify as a New Northwest Custom Apparel Customer? We have longtime current customers and rarely take on new customers we don't know, like, and trust. We have a stringent admission process, so be aware we usually accept 25% of the applicants.