Why Stitch-Count Pricing is Foolish & How Flat-Rate Up to 4×2 In Saves Your Shop

Many embroidery shops are stuck in a time warp. They’re using the old stitch-count pricing model, built for single-needle desktop machines like the Brother SE700. But in today’s fast-paced, high-volume market, that method is a liability—not a competitive advantage.

The Brother SE700 vs Industrial Machines

The Brother SE700 is a single-needle desktop embroidery machine. It has a small hoop, slow production, and costs around $500-$600. It works fine for hobbyists or small one-offs. But when your shop grows, when orders increase, or when faster delivery is expected, that one-needle SE700 just can’t keep up.

Contrast that with industrial machines like 15-needle, single-head units from brands such as Tajima, Barudan, SWF, or Ricoma. These machines cost in the range of $8,000-$15,000+ each. Then you have multi-head (2-, 4-, or 8-head) machines—priced $15,000-$35,000+. These let shops run large orders, speed up turnaround, reduce per-piece cost, and maintain consistency.

Why the Stitch-Count Model Fails

• Hidden costs: Digitizing, thread colors, setup fees—all outside the stitch count. The “$1 per 1,000 stitches” quote often balloons into something much bigger.
• Slow turnaround: Estimating stitches, getting design approvals, back-and-forth revisions—it wastes days.
• No margin protection: Pricing by stitch count often underpays for labor, electricity, machine depreciation, and overhead.
• Poor customer trust: Unexpected charges shock customers. They don’t reorder when invoices come higher than expectations.

The Flat-Rate Solution: Up to 4×2 Inches

Flat-rate pricing is simple and transparent. At Inkdnylon, we offer logos up to 4×2 inches for flat-rate pricing—no stitch guessing, no surprises. Customers know what they’re paying up front.

This model scales cleanly: whether it's six pieces or two hundred pieces, pricing is predictable. Because you invest in multi-needle / multi-head machines, you’re faster, more reliable, and your costs per item go down.

Machine Examples & Pricing

• Brother SE700 (single-needle): $500-$600, but slow and not built for large volume.
• Tajima single-head 15-needle machine: Approx. $8,000-$15,000+—great for serious shops.
• Multi-head units (2-, 4-, 8-head): $15,000-$35,000+ depending on brand and features—built to handle hundreds of pieces per run.

Conclusion & What Shops Must Do

If your shop still charges by stitch count, especially using assumptions from low-end machines like the SE700, you're falling behind. Margins get squeezed. Customers get frustrated. Growth stalls.

The way forward is flat-rate pricing up to 4×2 in, investing in high-head machines, and delivering speed + transparency. That’s what customers want and what sustainable shops are doing.

Read the full article: Why Embroidery Shops Close: Stitch-Count vs Flat-Rate 4×2″

Get Started: Visit our Custom Apparel page to order apparel + decoration, or submit your artwork for a quote.