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BL Ellisimo Upgrades Upgrades II & III
SandiMacD   Intermediate FL USA Member since 2/8/09 Posts: 1050	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 3/3/13 7:25 AM When I bought my Ellisimo in 2010 I got upgrade I. Recently I learned that since then 2 more upgrades have come out. Evidently one comes with a tablet device and I heard that you can draw a picture or trace an outline and it converts it into embroidery. I think the other one may improve the camera or zoom? Mine zooms to 200% now and I can angle the camera. So I was wondering what you thought. Or those of you that upgraded do you like it? Use it? Is it worth the the $1200? This just seems like a high price. But I am guessing it acts as a digitizer of sorts. Does it end up as a general PES file type that can be transferred to software and edited further? Or is it a proprietary file type that can only be to edited in BL software? ------ re-living my youth through sewing...
1975Jumby Intermediate CA USA Member since 8/19/08 Posts: 515	Login to reply to this post In reply to SandiMacD << 1 member likes this. Date: 3/3/13 6:58 PM Hi SandiMac......First of all, does the $1200 include BOTH updates or just one. If it's just one, that doesn't sound right to me. My dealer sells the upgrades for about $599, so I'm thinking maybe the $1200 is for both? In any case, upgrade II adds the tablet and also the color visualizer which can take your embroidery designs and shuffle the colors to different hues (bright, pastel, complimentary, mono, etc.). You also get 2 more fonts and 10 more embroidery designs. I have the Babylock Ellisimo Gold which is basically the Ellisimo with upgrades I and II. I can tell you that I have never used the tablet in the year I've had my machine. I've tested it out and I can see the novelty effect of it, and while you can create your own designs or trace some, I think it is a VERY BASIC type of digitizing that will not give the results an actual digitizing program gives you. You're probably better off spending the money on a digitizing program than buy the tablet. I think the general consensus among Ellisimo owners is upgrade II doesn't really add much. And I am a die hard Babylock fan and love all their products, so I feel a bit guilty saying the upgrade isn't worth much. But that's just my honest opinion! You do have the ability to save your designs to a USB flash drive, but I am not sure what format it saves in and I have never tried this. Nor do I know if you can take that design and edit it further with an editing program. In fact, I've never even thought of doing this, but I might try it out just to see. Upgrade III adds the larger continuous border hoop and improves the placement capabilities of continuous borders by using the camera and the "snowmen." It also comes with some more border designs. Now, I do quite a bit of home decor sewing and this is one upgrade I will probably purchase since I know I'll use it. I have the smaller continuous border hoop and it's great, but this upgrade uses the camera to make sure your borders are precisely placed. My dealer sells this upgrade for $599, I believe. Hope this helps! ------ Babylock Ellisimo Gold Babylock Enlighten Kenmore 1914 Kenmore 1814
SandiMacD   Intermediate FL USA Member since 2/8/09 Posts: 1050	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 3/4/13 6:57 AM Thanks it helps immensely. It is possible she thought I was asking for the combined upgrade cost. I took my first Mastery Class on threading and we went through the screen and thats where she pointed out the upgrades because a couple of people had them. The tablet input does sound like a cool upgrade but too basic for well over $600 with tax. I asked about computer editing because I was surprised that I could not tweak a built in design. Prior to my Ellisimo Gold I had a Janome and could move built in designs over to my computer and tweak them. It's a bigger screen and I am used to the software editing features. But the built in Ellisimo files are proprietary and aren't recognized in my computer editing software. It might work in BL editing software, don't know as I am a Mac user so my software is third party. I am not yet into borders- I still have much to explore in the way of embroidery period. I am hoping to take some Dealer classes this year and learn more about it. But I am easily swayed and wanted some opinions so I can thoughtfully consider upgrades instead of getting carried away by class instructor enthusiam. ------ re-living my youth through sewing...

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