It has been 2 months since I have put my Melco 16 needle embroidery machines to work and here are my thoughts about these machines:
They are fast. Compared to my 6 needle Brother machine the Melco Embroidery 16 needle machines are super-fast.
There is a learning curve. Unlike the Brother 6 needle, there are more steps involved with the Melco's from learning the operating system to ensuring they have adequate internet connection to connect to a laptop or desktop.
The Melco require maintenance. With the Brother 6 needle I have performed my own maintenance, such as cleaning the inside, the thread cutter area, bobbins and things like that. I have also changed out the thread cutter myself with the help of some youtube videos. The Melco's require weekly and monthly and annual maintenance which Melco provides a step-by-step video for each. The operating system signals when the maintenance for a particular machine is needed and walks you through the maintenance in great detail. However, you must be handy and not be afraid to do the maintenance.
With my machines I have noticed the threader does not cut the thread at time which has been a pain so that is something I will contact support about.
The support for Melco is top notch. I have contacted them already since I have had the machines and they have helped a lot.
The Melco's do require a dedicated laptop. I found this out after I made the purchase as I was going to use the laptop I use for my designing and such, but I found I would need a designated laptop just for the Melco's to run on.
The Melco's require internet or wifi. I found they work best with an internet connect and that connection needs to be close to the machines.
The operating system is a little spotty. For me, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I am not sure if it is the laptop make/model I am using or not but found that I have to reboot my computer, log into the Melco operating system and then turn the Melco on for it to register. I have to do this for a single machine and then turn the other Melco on for it to work as well. This gets annoying, it is something I plan on contacting Melco about as it shouldn't be causing me such a problem.
If you are not pulling in about $500 a month (after supplies) from your business OR if you are not dedicating that much a month for a Melco, DON"T BUY ONE. I financed my Melco's as I did not have the cash at the time to purchase. I also wasn't going to purchase (2) but they had a November black Friday special, and it was less expensive a unit price to order the special, so I did. My shop was pulling in a lot in November and December even after supplies and I felt I needed the Melco's at the time to get orders out sooner. Christmas rush was a beast. Looking back, I feel I could have just settled for a single Melco instead of (2). The payment is just about what I pull in a month after supplies so I am basically breaking even. I hope to increase income from my business in 2023 so hoping this break even doesn't last long and actually start seeing some in my pocket income.
The Melco units are heavy and rather larger than I expected. Make sure you have dedicated space and room for a Melco.
Also, the Melco's are loud. My Brother 6 needle was a little loud but nothing like the Melco's. The Melco's are industrial grade units, so they are larger and louder. I have invested in some good headphones to drown out the noise.
To sum it up, I feel I have made a great buy and decision purchasing the Melco's. It has changed my speed of production. I can get about 8 shirts out a day instead of just 3-4 and this helps tremendously.
PS: check out my YouTube Channel where I post several work with me videos and you can see the Melco's and the Brother 6 needle in action.
