I am researching embroidery machines and getting very confused. Is it better to buy a machine that hooks up to my laptop via a USB port? Or is it better to get a machine that requires a card reader such as a PED basic for Brother machines? Maybe it just is a matter of personal preference? HELP!! :roll:

Personal preference , I think and computer knowledge . I am not sure about cost . Mine has the PED and is easy to use once you figure it out :wink: LOL

which model machine did you get?

Personally I like having the USB- It has much more vesatility. Nearly everything you can get on a card can also be downloaded, but with a card - that is ALL you get!

I have the Brother SE270D the hoop is only 4x4

Thanks for the input. I hadn't considered that! This board is awesome!

:-D

You can download patterns to the card from the internet also

My card can be unloaded and reloaded with the designs I want to use at that time. I keep the designs on my computer and download them to my card as needed.

I like being able to use my computer... more storage and versatiltiy

Am I understanding it correctly that with a memory card the designs are on the card and you insert the card into your embroidery machine? And with the PED basic you download designs from the Internet and upload the card into the embroidery machine? I wasn't kidding when I said I am confused. :(

Memory cards and cards from the PED basic can download patterns from the internet or computer and you put the card into the machine.
There also are cards(dedicated) that have seperate patterns on them, these cards you just put the card into the machine, clear as mud :wink:

Thanks for the explanation. It helps. The "mud" is less murky now.

:)

I can hook mine to my lap top, then I can down load free patren from free sites. Penny

If the $$$ will allow, I would go for the USB.

I have a Bernina 180E and the embroidery module has a place for the design cards. Which when this machine came out that was all that was available. Now the designs are available on CD. For Xmas one year my husband bought me a PES2CARD3-SE
I download the designs from the CD to to a blank design card.
This works great for me. I don't think I would like having to have a computer in my sewing room.

Good morning. I have had both and would recommend the USB port just because of the ease of use once you figure out what you are doing. I also find it much easier and in the long run really cheaper. If you ever have a card reader go bad or one of those little cards, then you may be kicking yourself for not going with the USB. Also, USB is more up to date. Good luck in picking out a machine. I am happy with my brother quarttro that are starting to show up on-line as slightly used...I am sure it is the economy, not the machine, but watchout with the brother warranty...original owner clause.

That's what I do too. The newer machines seem to mostly have USB hook-ups. I haven't had or seen the USB hook-up in use but since it is newer I'm assuming it's better. My design converter is a mini magic box and it won't work with my new computer (windows 7) so I use my old laptop with it. The mini magic box manufacturer told me that my new computer is 64 bit and the mini magic box is 32 bit (like windows XP). I'm not sure I understand all this but I'm glad I had an old computer around to use for my embroidery machine.

I have the Brother 270D and 8500 and use the same card on both....the PED reader is about $100 on ebay but the card comes with it. i download from my computer in a file and then transfer to the card. You can get alot on a card and have the option of changing when you want

If you decide to get USB capabilities, that also allows you to use a USB stick. A USB stick offers the same capabilities as a card. In other words, it is portable ... you can copy designs onto it, erase them, transfer them to your machine ... everything a card can do. I have my computer hooked up to my Janome 11000 and my software (installed on my computer) allows me to transfer my designs from the computer directly to my sewing machine and vice versa using a USB cord. I usually only use my USB sticks as backup storage for my designs, but they can be used to download designs from the internet and put them into your sewing machine. My machine has card reading and CD Rom capabilities, but I've never used either.

USB sticks are fine, but remember the sewing embroidery or quilting machine can only read so much information from that stick,so if you have too many designs on the stick the machine won't read anything. In your manuals for your machines it should tell you the limit. If not call your dealers or manufacturers and get it explained to you.

Hope this helps.

suzy

My new Babylock Eleago has card slot, USB cord to computer & USB port for flashdrive. You can only use 2Gb drives as it won't read anything bigger. I do like the flashdrive but I like the card too. I would imagine a new machine would have both.

Thanks for the info. I am learning so much from everyone!

I would go with the card. Less wear and tear on your machine if you don't have to hook it up to the computer. Putting everything on the card would be easier, at least for me.

I would go with a USB port as there is nothing extra needed to buy that way so you can put some towards designs. I have one that uses floppies this was my first machine and another that uses the usb connection and I truly love it just wish I could leave it connected to the computer all the time though.

My computer is in one room & sewing machine in another. Can't move computer & sm weights a ton.

I have the Brother ULT 2003 uses card and floppy disk it is easy to put designs on it I have the Janome 11000SE and it uses the Card, USB Flash drives and has a USB port for the computer its nice having a choice on what to use but when I just need one design I usually go for the floppy guess just habit

I have had both and would definitely go with the usb sticks. It holds more designs and if you loose it or break it, it is easily replaced at a much cheaper cost. the cards are extremely expensive and if you ruin one you will not be a happy camper. I have a Janome 350E and MB4 and use the usb sticks for both.

if you get the machine that reads a card. you can download off the internet but you need a special reader converter box that cost extra. if you get one with a usb port you can buy or get free designs from the internet right to the usb memory stick My machine has both a memory card port and a usb port I never use the card port

If it's ok to ask, which embroidery machine do you have? TIA

I have a Bernina 730...and you can use a card with preloaded designs..you can load them directly from the computer using a usb port..or you can download them to a usb stick and plug it into the side of the sewing machine. I have a Husqavarna (spelling) Iris and it only has a card and you have to use a card reader to download designs..which I found way to confusing. I hope this helps.

I have both. I have the PED Basic for my smaller machine, which does not have a USB port. What I liked about the PED is you can set it for the design size you need, like 4x4, and it will not allow you to download any designs that do not meet that criteria.

The USB doesn't have that feature so when you download a design from your computer, you need to know if it will fit your 4x4 size before you download it. I use the USB on my bigger machine because I can accommodate all hoop sizes so it's not an issue.

PED is limited on the number of designs that will fit on the card. The bigger the design, the more space it will take up on the card. The USB can accommodate tons of designs, all sizes.

Please research and buy carefully as these machines are expensive but really really great. You need to be able to download designs onto your computer then onto a storage device which fits your machine. I have a Janome 11000. I can download designs to a flash card, a memory stick, a compact disk (CD) or directly to the machine. Also, you can enlarge the designs, make them smaller, reverse them, etc. Good luck, you will love your embroidery machine.

I started with the card reader on my Viking and have now upgraded to a computer disk and the computer disk is so much better and just wish I had gone a little higher to the USB port. You are extremely limited with the card reader, but it was a good learning experience.

I have a Brother Innov'is 2500D and it takes a memory card and USB Port. The USB is more versital....in my opinion.

I have this machine also, it was the first one I got and I dearly love it still.

Consider this:
If you buy one that hooks USB to computer, then you must have a laptop to be able to take the whole setup to a class or sewdate.
If you have one that takes the little card(s, you may want more than one to have a selection of designs available) you can just put your desired designs on the card(s) and then take along with your machine and stuff, don't have to lug around the computer too.

I have both (the little 270D and a larger Bernina 440QE), and I use them both - one at home big and cumbersome, and one to take-along.

Both work great for what they do.

Agreed!!!

I would advise you to get the USB if possible because the cards are quickly becoming out-dated. Most of the design companies stopped producing design cards a couple of years ago. Another thing I just learn resently is that the cards for your card readers do have a live span (some live longer than others, or so I'm told) and they are expensive to replace. USB sticks are getting cheaper and larger capacity every year. My Ellgante will only read up to 2 gigs but it is my understanding that the new machines will read bigger sticks. The other thing to remember is that if you have a machine with a USB port, most of those machines can be hooked directly to your computer. We had the question a while back about computer viruses possibly infecting our sewing machines, one of the BL techs said it would not happen but the computer tech said anything that has a motherboard can get infected. Maybe some of our other board buddies can weigh in on this question?

Thanks for all that information. Very interesting!