Bridge Laser Offers New Decoration Opportunities

Sept 24, 2007

Kris Janowski reaches into his briefcase at ISS Schaumburg and pulls out sample after sample of remarkable embroidery and appliqué. The vice president of sales for Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Tajima USA Sales & Support is explaining how a bridge laser can reduce production time and labor costs while increasing the opportunity for embroidery companies to develop new markets.

Seeing the samples is believing, as they share several readily apparent features: the intricacy of the designs, the precision of the thread path and cutting lines, the variety of fabrics used and the sewing times recorded on the sample cards — anywhere from four seconds for a small design to 13 seconds for a full-front, two-color appliqué. "A full-front embroidery can take one to two hours," Janowski notes. "By using appliqué in combination with a walking stitch, bean stitch or even a zig-zag stitch, we can reduce the stitch count by 80% to 90%, depending on the design size." In the world of embroidery, a low stitch count correlates to high efficiency.
 
Within a few months of announcing that it had become the U.S. distributor of Seit Elettronica s.r.l. bridge lasers, Tajima USA Sales & Support now has two installations in place and three more pending, Janowski says. Seit, a Valdobbiadene, Italy, company with a 25-year history of developing laser systems, already has 300 similar installations worldwide, he adds.

Though lasers are commonly used in many applications today, including medicine, military and manufacturing, U.S. embroidery shop owners may not be altogether familiar with the concept of the bridge laser.

Such devices consist of a laser system that travels along a steel beam positioned over a multihead embroidery machine. The laser operates inline with the embroidery machine to perform intricate cutting and etching operations on a finished garment or cut piece while the goods remain in the hoop. Conversely, the inline laser/embroidery machine combo can perform the same operations on a continuous length of fabric rolled onto a table outfitted with a special clamping system to stabilize the loose material.

The beauty of the system is that the beam can be extended to accommodate any number of embroidery machines, according to Janowski. In the case of multiple machines, the system can be programmed so that while embroidery is taking place on one or more machines, cutting can take place on the other machines.

The most cost effective installation, says Janowski, is four machines of six to eight heads. "You can use any existing embroidery machine," he adds. "However, it works best with Tajima because it was made in conjunction with Tajima."

While the cost of a laser bridge system — $140,000 to more than $200,000, depending on the length of the bridge, says Janowski — may define the prospective buyer, it's important to keep in mind the market potential for the technology. "In the U.S. market, the first potential would be anybody in the sports industry. Next will be decorating apparel [such as] resort sportswear," Janowski says. "If you're doing appliqué right now, you can replace doing it manually or buying precut by the use of the bridge laser."

The technology's versatility also may give domestic embroiderers the means to regain some of the business that has moved offshore. "You're getting very detailed appliqué," he says. "You're getting multimedia. You're getting engraving (etching). You can combine appliqué with sequins." And because you're reducing stitch counts, you can produce high-quality decoration fast, economically and just in time for hot market delivery.

Moreover, the equipment's not difficult to operate. "Anybody who can operate an embroidery machine can run a laser machine," he says. Nonetheless, proper installation is critical. "We take two weeks for installation and training, making sure everything is aligned properly," Janowski adds.

The machine comes with Seit Magic Driver operator control software and Seit Laser Design Fusion, which interfaces with Pulse digitizing software and allows for the import of vector files from CorelDraw and Adobe Illustrator. — R.L.

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