Does this photo look familiar? No I haven’t found my answer yet!!!!
It ended up that the Janome dealer was able to fix my janome for only $89! I went back and forth with the decision about which one to keep! I currently have both machines! My Janome machine is only 4 years old. I was disappointed that it incurred a problem….but I am glad it was finally able to be fixed. Unfortunately, the Janome dealer closest to me closed, so I have to travel an hour to get it repaired! Whereas the Babylock dealer is only 10 minutes away!
Okay, so this post is going to be all about the difference, I have found, between the Janome 300e and the Babylock ellure. This is just my own personal opinion and these are only a few of the differences and comparisons. I think I could continue this post for another 20 pages…the differences are that great! So please, take this information with a grain of salt.
I am writing this post because I had a very hard time finding sites that compared different embroidery machines. I have had my Janome for a little over 4 years and I think I have learned a lot about this particular machine. But when it comes to other machines out there, I know very little. And I think it is very hard to find out about other machines, especially if you can’t take them home with you and really try them out!
In general, if I had to recommend an embroidery machine to someone in the $1000 price range, I THINK I would recommend the Janome. If a person could spend more money, I would recommend going for the Babylock Esante. I don’t know anything about the more expensive Janome models, so I can’t give any recommendations.
One of the toughest things about looking at machines is driving to the stores…..none of them seem to be near each other. I found one store that sold Janome, Babylock, Brother, and many other brands, but that is highly unusual. A lot of stores won’t even give you prices over the phone, they tell you have to come in and check them out to get the prices. So, that can be a very long and drawn out processes..driving all over the place to look at machines.
Along with buying an embroidery machine, you have to buy the software and the hoops..so those are added expenses.
So, let me just say that it was so nice to have the Babylock machine, alert me to the fact that bobbin was about to run out! It was wonderful! Also, I love how it has an auto cutter, at the end of each color. I also love how fast the Babylock seemed..it just seemed to do everything faster than the Janome..yet when I timed them, they did things at about the same rate!
So, now let me talk about some of the differences that I have found between the two machines. The first major difference between the two machines is the screen. The Janome screen is bigger and easier to read. The Babylock screen is very hard to read..some of my images, I couldn’t even tell what they were! I think the Janome screen is easier to negotiate..it seems more intuitive. They separate the images by hoop size, which makes total sense to me. The Babylock does not separate the images by hoop size and because the images are so bad, it is hard to see which image is which. And I think the Babylock screen is just harder to navigate.
The other major difference (in my opinion) is the fact that the Janome machine takes normal memory cards. I use a Compact Flash Memory card with 256 MB and it holds 100 images. The Babylock machine uses a Babylock palette which uses special Babylock cards..that can’t be used with any other machine. Each card only holds about 4-10 images. So, personally, I liked the fact that I could use a memory card and store many images on the card and not have to go back and forth between my computer and machine so many times.
The Babylock does have a smaller hoop size, but not by too much. The Janome is 140mm x 200mm and the babylock is 180mm x 130mm. Sometimes this doesn’t seem like much but other times it seems like a lot! Both machines have a “giga”-style hoop. I have a giga hoop for the Janome and it is very difficult to use..I would never recommend it!
I took a whole bunch of my images and made one using the Janome and one using the Babylock..there isn’t much of a difference. Each did a very nice job. It is hard to tell which is which, except for the smaller size, which always means the Babylock.
Well, as stated, I could go on forever, but I think I’ve gone on long enough..if you’re looking for an embroidery machine….good luck and try them all out! And let me know your thoughts!
