Home > Garmentech 2002 - A special feature > Full Story

Coats India launches revolutionary Embroidery Design Viewer
Vijaya K - Bangalore

Coats India the leading sewing thread manufacturer and marketer in India launches Coats Embroidery Design Viewer (EDV) in India for the embroidery industry. The software is being unveiled during the Garmentech 2002 exhibition at New Delhi to be held between July 11 to 14 2002. Coats EDV is a revolutionary software which allows anyone with a computer to view embroidery designs.

Coats EDV is jointly developed by Coats Plc, the largest sewing thread manufacturer in the world and Wings System Ltd, developers of the well known Wings experience digitising software.

Says Mr Ashok Mathur, president Coats India, “For the first time in the embroidery industry a powerful software is available free of charge to everyone who has an interest in viewing embroidery designs. We took the view that only free software backed by two companies that are committed to develop the product would persuade industry professionals to incorporate the software into their day-to-day work.Designers and manufacturers sit at opposite ends of the globe and need powerful communication tools to improve on-time delivery to increasingly high quality standards. Our software will help them integrate embroidery designs closer into the apparel supply chain.”

Increasingly excellence in embroidery revolves around the manipulation of designs using specialist software as well as a detailed knowledge of embroidery techniques and use of specialist interlinings, needles and other non-thread support materials. Coats EDV is targeted at brand owners, embroiders and retailers all over the world.

According to Mr Ranjan Chakhaiyar, vice president (marketing), “In the existing embroidery supply chain, designers, brand managers, merchandising managers and key decision makers do not have an opportunity to know what is contained in a stitch file. Coats EDV is the first design viewer available to every one in the industry to view, modify, enhance and exchange embroidery information from any punched/digitised stitch file; irrespective of the file origin. We believe that embroiders, brand owners and retailer’s involvement is critical for the advancement of the embroidery industry as a whole towards improved quality and management of the embroidery supply chain. Coats India is always ahead in introduction of new technology and Coats EDV is yet another profit enhancer for the industry in shortening the pre embroidery approval process.” Most brand owners and their supply chains do not have access to specialist embroidery software although they are the people who are supposed to approve the embroidery designs before they go into production. The embroidery punching software is very expensive and it cannot be installed in all the locations. Increasingly the brand owners, retailers, specialist departmental stores use embroidery in all most all the garments and the decision makers at present do not have any way of seeing an embroidery design on their desktop for review and approval. “We in Coats felt that if we could develop embroidery viewing software - like the Adobe Acrobat Reader - we could help the embroidery industry by shortening the supply chain” says Mr Ranjan.

Coats EDV provides industry professionals with a tool for viewing, modifying and exchanging embroidery design files. It is based on entry-level viewing software used in the embroidery industry with the additional of some innovative features and functions. The software is free to customers in the embroidery industry and supply chain, so anyone in the world who has a computer now has the ability to read and exchange embroidery designs; previously customer had to spend over $500 to purchase even an entry level design viewer. “There are now hundreds of embroidery viewing and digitising systems - all use their own formats - all software companies try to encourage users to stay with their format which greatly restricts the exchange of information; normally this is done using some formats which have very limited functionality relating to machine functions” they opine.