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“Our looms used to go empty because we could not complete all our complicated graphs in time. Now with Galaincha program running in our factory, we are ahead of time with our graphs.”
“Without this software, we could not have managed processing such a huge volume of orders that we are getting nowadays.”
“It is like owning a car while all you had before was a motorbike. Especially our weavers are very happy because the graphs produced by the software are very clear.”
“With this software in place, it is very easy to get the most attractive color combinations.”
“The yarn estimation feature is very important, because it avoids substantial wastage that we would have otherwise.”
“Because we use computer, we have the advantage of accuracy. Our graphs, and hence the carpets, would not have been so perfect, if we didn’t have this program.”
“When I saw the first version, it was okay only. Still I bought it. When I got the second version, I was really impressed. It is quite something now.”
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| These are the few sentences that I
heard from our users as feedback in appreciation of our software
“Galaincha”. The eleven factories here and abroad that are
using Galaincha program for less than a year have already
started enjoying and appreciating the benefits of it. They have
adopted modern technology for an ancient craft.
Technology, more precisely, computer and software technology, which is doing wonders all over the world in every aspect of life from communications to automation, has finally unveiled an affordable and highly efficient solution to the carpet industry as well. This technological solution has come in terms of complete pre-production process starting from design and color combination to full featured graphs and accurate wool estimation. The benefit of technology is sometimes very difficult to explain. It can only be witnessed or experienced. I have witnessed it and I have experienced it too. Now let me try to do the difficult part: to explain it.
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Technology Example
You must have seen a note counting machine in banks, and if you
have, then you must also have witnessed how quickly it does. And
you must also have seen tellers without note counting machines
too. The machine is an added cost and the tellers can do it
without a machine as well, but the banks use this technology
because they can provide prompt service to their customers.
Technology most often means doing the same thing that was being
done traditionally, but with increased efficiency and
reliability. If you walk, you can only do a couple of miles in
an hour. If you drive, you can do over fifty miles. But if you
fly, you can do hundreds of miles. You have adopted the
appropriate technology to move around, so you won’t walk down
to your factory, neither you drive from here to Atlanta. Now you
wonder how people lived before the vehicles were invented. This
is what technology means.
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Technology in Carpet Industry
Technology is born of imagination. So let your imagination fly.
You have a piece of artwork in your hand. You wonder how will it
look like if you make a small modification in it, change few
colors and enlarge it in size. Will it make a good carpet? Of
course you can do it in a computer with appropriate tools and
accessories. You don’t have to weave a sample carpet to judge
your idea. Now you have decided that it would make a good
carpet. Preparing the graph for the design means one whole day.
Then you begin to think isn’t there an easier way? Of course
there is. Some special purpose software can prepare your graph
too. Now you need to dye wool to weave the carpet. Technology
can also help you find out exactly how much of wool of each
color will be required for your carpet. Now your carpet is ready
and sent to market. This customer looks into your carpet, but
wants a different color combination so that he can decide. Can
you prepare a carpet with colors in his mind before he leaves
your showroom? Technology can.
If you give your customer your design in computer and a range of colors to play with, so that he can choose his own colors and do his own modifications instantly, he can get what he wanted, not what you offer.
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Areas you can benefit
Almost all of you use Internet, and you are already aware of the benefits it can bring in to your factory in communicating with your customers. It has enhanced your efficiency at a reduced cost. Some of you are also exchanging designs with your customer through the Internet. But have you ever thought that the design that you receive though the net could have been directly converted into graph? Yes, it is possible. Now imagine the time and stress that you save using this computer graphing technology. Moreover, you can also change the quality and size of your graph within the computer without much effort, and also estimate the yarn of each color that is required to weave this design. The accurate yarn estimation beforehand helps you reduce the wastage wool in a great capacity.
If you do your designing in computer, modifications are easy and quick. Unwanted motifs can be removed, new motifs can be added, or existing motifs can be modified on the fly.
Then your customers can look at the sample, and try their own color combinations, or even modify the design to their taste in computer before ordering. These flexibilities are the gift of technology for your designing work.
Few carpet factories in Nepal do already have their own websites. A website can be as good as a showroom, provided it is properly designed, maintained and advertised. Your products can be viewed by a wider mass in lesser time and lesser cost, at the same time it exhibits your technological competence to the world.
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Conclusion
Technology does not only increase your efficiency, but also
provides an easier, flexible and cost effective method to do
what you were doing much differently otherwise. To work better,
you should not only start using available technology in an
effective manner, but also start searching for new technology
that was never thought before which you can implement to remain
ahead in competition. Let the windows of your mind open, and let
it discover the ladder of your success.
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Mr. Tandukar is an Electronic Engineer with
ten years of experience in computer field. He is an Assistant
Professor at the Department of Electronics and Computer
Engineering, Pulchowk Campus. He has been publishing
CORExpress, the only native Computer Magazine of Nepal since
1993. His unique software “Galaincha” for carpet
designing, editing, graphing, and wool estimating has
acclaimed its wide acceptance and appreciation in the industry
here and abroad.
He can be reached at jyoti@coremag.net
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