Talk to me about Pro Stitcher software for long arm quilting please!
 

I've been quilting for others as a part time business for a few years now. I've been using a Handi Quilter Simply Sixteen with mostly hand guided pantographs and some light custom work. I've realized that I've done a substantial amount of quilting in the past year and I'm thinking I'm at the point where it makes sense to consider robotics/software to help automate and speed things up where I can. My personal quilts are utility quilts meant to be used and loved. I can't speak for my quilting customers, but as far as I know, their quilts are also utility quilts. I don't enter shows or fairs and I do not promise "prize winning" quilting or anything like that.

For what it's worth, I purchased the long arm for my personal use as I have physical difficulties which prevent me from pin basting and wrestling a quilt through a domestic machine. My options were to buy and use a long arm for my quilts, pay another quilter to long arm quilt my quilts, or stop quilting entirely. I'm stubborn and want my quilts to be the result of my own efforts from start to finish, so I chose to buy a long arm. If I had to give up long arming for others, I would still use it quite heavily for myself. The part time business aspect has really been a pleasant bonus, and something I enjoy in addition to my own projects. In short, I'm not depending on potential quilting income to finance or justify the additional expense of an upgrade.

Would anyone be willing to share their experience with Pro Stitcher or any other computerized quilting options that can be added on to an existing machine and frame? I'd be willing to upgrade from the Simply Sixteen if necessary, but the 12 foot frame I have is the largest frame I can set up in the space available to me.

I think I'll probably love it once I bite the bullet and do it, but it would be wonderful to hear about others' experiences. Is there anything you wished you would have known or thought of but didn't? How steep was the learning curve? What are the "must have" features for you, and what things are nice but not really necessary? How about Art & Stitch or other add-on software? Do you know of any great links, you tubes, or other resources for training or learning? What was your experience if you went from hand guided quilting to computerized quilting, regardless of the specific machine/frame/software combo? Anything else I'm not thinking of? Good, bad, or ugly, I want to hear it all!

Thank you in advance for sharing with me!

I have a qbot and love it. There is a learning curve to any computerized robot for a longarm, so be prepared for that no matter what you buy. Sewing machines plus was running a good sale on them, not sure if it's still going on. Watch youtube videos of all the major robotic setups and see what feels comfortable to you. Look at warranties (qbot has 5 years), and most of all, how is their help the sale? If a company sells it, then you're on your own..not good. Look at facebook groups for different setups and see what the trending complaints are...is it user error or does the head seem to need an awful lot of factory service? Lastly...they all do the same thing...some have a few more bells and whistles, so price is a factor...learn what the basics are for 99% of them..(move a design, resize, etc.)...and what the extras are and if they're worth the price for what you'll do with it. Lastly...are the updates free or do they charge an arm and a leg for every new update coming out???

I have both Pro stitcher and Intelliquilter . Intelliquilter hands down so user friendly.

Thank you both for naming other systems to look at. I really don't know what I don't know here!

I was in the same boat as you, started with Simply 16 and pantographs/custom designing. Upgraded to an Amara with Prostitcher and never looked back. It is simple and slick to use. I do not have Art n Stitch as I didn’t want to spend time designing. My frame is 10 feet because my room is 10.5 feet. Never have regretted the purchase. I have dealer located in Elkhorn WI, The Quilting Connection. Good luck!

I have the prostitcher and use it a lot. Before you buy one call Handi Quilter and tell them what machine you have. Some of the older ones (like mine) cannot be upgraded anymore so be sure you are getting the newest you can use.

I purchased ProStitcher for HandiQuilter Fusion recently and have found it to be a wonderful addition to my quilting. User friendly - there are so many great videos online they are such a great resource. I have never taken a class and have found these videos to be great. I am sure that I will learn more as I use the program. Take it one step at a time and soon you will be quilting beautiful designs on your quilts. Have fun - well worth the price of the unit. I love it!

Awesome, thank you all! I'm really digging the Qbot so far, something about it just fits my way of thinking. The intelliquilter definitely looks to be much more intuitive than the Pro Stitcher. I really don't need a bunch of fancy features (I'm probably fine with anything that I can import digital pantos to and some basic resizing abilities) but I also don't want to cheap out and regret it in a few years.

I too have the QBot and love it. I bought it used and upgraded along the way. I taught myself along the way with the QBot Group information. Upgraded my machine and the people at QBot helped me make the decision of which machine to buy and what parts I needed to get everything going. I really have had great luck with QBot and they have been a company that upgrades numerous times adding small features people are looking for and many, many times at no charge. I really can say the company has been very helpful and people friendly. Here is the group info
https://groups.io/g/QBOTSquad

Good Luck on your decision!

I bought my HQ Fusion without the pro sticher, then upgraded a few years later to add it. My husband wanted to be able to do some quilting and he had no interest in FMQ. He did a few, then lost interest. I probably use the robotics 75% of the time. I do a lot of all over pattern, and quite a bit of special quilting using it (like motifs).

I was so-so about it the upgrade to the Pro Stitcher premium that came out this spring. They finally fixed some of the more difficult issues. I super love the new features with the accelerator (slows down automatically for corners and curves). Now I can do an all over pattern at 100% (full speed) and the machine slows down as needed so I get a much nicer stitch and it's not jerking all over the place. That has significantly shortened the amount of time when I use it.

Until I got that software upgrade, I was seriously thinking of upgrading my whole system. Now I feel like I've got a new machine compared to the problems I had before the upgrade. I wasn't having a lot of problems, just felt like I was having to do "work around" to compensate for some lack of features.

You all are giving me so much to look at and think about! Thank you so much for being so generous with your thoughts!

Intelliquilter all the way. The creator Zoltan is a genius. We were working on orders from a quilt store for display when my tablet started acting up and needed replaced. (Had it a long time). We contacted them them online and shipped it overnight to them with wiring harness. They quickly transferred all my designs to a new tablet and set up the wiring harness with it then shipped it back overnight. We started putting everything back on our APQS Millennium over the weekend. Had trouble understanding the new tablet startup so I put up another request for help. Zoltan, himself, called us on Sunday afternoon to walk us thru it. Worth every penny. When downloading designs it optimizes them for stitch out. Some designs you stitch out are still better than others but you learn to know what to look for. There is a great forum and teaching site online. Also many large quilt shows offer classes.

If you decide to stay with Handiquilter go to their website and check under the Education tab. I found their instructors to be excellent and some teach everything you want to know about Prostitcher.
hcarpanini on this board is one of the HQ instructors - send her a PM and she can give you info on PS

When I went to look for a new robotic system as my old one was going south on me and no customer service anymore, I checked out all the videos I could find online, Youtube, robotics websites to see how they operated. I made a list of what I wanted to be able to do with the robotics too. I chose the IQ for my Innova as it came with thread break sensor and channel locks options. Due to the fact I had a different bottom carriage I did have to order an original Innova/ABM carriage to replace it. I sold the other one so that came out nicely for me. While waiting for the IQ to be installed, I watched, downloaded, etc every video I could find on the IQ so I had an idea how to use it when it did come. I still go back to those videos when its something I need to do that I don't do often. Plus the Facebook sites have lots of helpful folks. So far I haven't regretted my choice.

I have an older Pfaff P3 (Tin Lizzie clone) with the Butler/Quilt EZ robotics. I have found it works well and the programs easy to understand. There is a facebook group for them.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet so I thought I'd add it if someone else in my position finds this thread later.

I've been speaking with a Handi Quilter dealer that specializes in HQ machines and Pro Stitcher. They are saying that the Pro Stitcher cannot be moved from one machine to another. So say I want to put it on my Simply Sixteen now, then down the road I decide to upgrade the machine head, I would be unable to use the Pro Stitcher I already own on my new machine. This sounds crazy! I'm not sure if this is a way to sell folks on a machine upgrade or not, but either way I'm not comfortable with that kind of inflexibility with something that costs so much already. If that's true, that will be the end of my Pro Stitcher research. If that is not true, it will be the end of my communication with this particular dealer.

I have an HQ Avante with ProStitcher and love it. I do not find the software difficult to use and the few times I have had to call a Tech at HQ they were amazing, patient and a lot of help. There are also many groups online dedicated to the ProStitcher. As far as portability between machines - I do not know about that, but I do know that in the discussion groups it is clear that those members who have other machine heads (non HQ) with a ProStitcher appear to have different software capabilities at times.

There is a "ProStitcher Posse" on Facebook and also a Yahoo group (now moved to Google groups.io) - both groups are extremely active and moderated my HQ Educators willing to help. You might want to join that type of group to get even more information. Also - you might try to call HQ hotline and ask to speak to a Tech. They, i am sure, would be happy to answer the portability question.

Good luck with your decision - Big investment so it is wise to ask all these questions before.