NEWH - May 2003 - (Page 51)

in my opinion... dye-injection technology makes customizing carpets fast & economical by: Tracy Francis, Milliken Carpet Company AS INTERIOR DESIGN BUDGETS SHRINK, designers are turning more and more attention to the floor for their design impact. Floor coverings occupy the largest interior area, providing the greatest opportunity to shape and build a powerful image. When compared to architectural detailing, carpeting becomes a more economical finish material, providing a greater return in relation to dollars spent per effect. To harness the design potential of the floor, Milliken developed Millitron® dye injection technology. Of the technologies available today, it has the largest vocabulary for pattern development. Rather than tufting a pattern into the carpet, the Millitron injects pattern into the carpet fiber. This allows the designer to concept carpet design in the same way an artist approaches a blank canvas. Images can be placed anywhere on the carpet canvas without restriction to detail, color, clarity or desired effect. Imagination is the only limitation. The latest Millitron uses 40,000 dye jets which lie parallel to each other and inject dye transversely across a moving carpet. Each dye jet can be independently controlled by the computer for precise dye injection into specific locations for 100 percent dye penetration. These immense machines, which run the length of a football field, change from one design to another in a split second without stopping. Registration of colors within a design is precise and automatic. With this patterning capability, interior designers don’t have to treat the floor like a surface. Carpet can provide a visual, tactile and emotive medium to involve the hospitality guest in the story the designer is seeking to tell. As the guest moves through the hotel, designers can change the floor composition to continually engage the guest in the experience or to transition him from one experience to another. This state-of-the-art digital technology allows for the ultimate in design flexibility. It also works well on a variety of carpet systems. Milliken Hospitality Carpet uses Millitron technology on a variety of cut-pile and loop-pile nylon carpet bases, as well as a new 80/20 wool/nylon carpet called Kingsley. Broadloom carpet is dyed on the Millitron ranges, as well as Milliken’s 36” modular carpet called Atria. To understand the possibilities provided by Millitron dye injection, one only needs to look at how it was developed. In the early 1970s, Milliken & Company chairman Roger Milliken challenged his scientists and engineers to harness the power of the world’s emerging generation of super computers. The research physicist who led the team based the Millitron technology on the digital imaging process used by NASA to read and store space photographs. Millitron was launched in 1974 and has been continually refined by Milliken over the last 28 years. Today, Milliken is the largest supplier of patterned carpet in North America and the only carpet company to manufacture carpet in North America, Europe and Japan. Milliken also licenses the Millitron technology around the world. Millitron is a digital design platform that is software-driven, not hardware-constrained. Computer data from the designer’s system is transferred electronically to the Millitron system. No sequencing of light to dark coloring is required, as in screen printing. Nothing but dye touches the carpet. Color placement is precise and placed at 400 color points per square inch for nearly six times greater design detail than an Axminster loom’s 70 color points per square inch. In the hospitality industry, designers are continually challenged to produce more creative environments with smaller budgets and shrinking time frame. Milliken’s digital technology becomes an even greater advantage in today’s economy, as it allows designers to create unique images, custom-color designs and speed the order “As interior design budgets shrink, designers are turning more and more attention to the floor for their design impact.” -Tracy Francis, Milliken Carpet Co. 51

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - May 2003

NEWH - May 2003
Contents
Letter From the Editor
Hospitality News
Spotlight on NEWH
Tips on Specs....Chandeliers
On the Road Again
Did You Know?
Ancient Storytelling Comes to Life
Indian Gaming: Developing the Latest Gaming Trend
You Can’t Sue an Indian Tribe, Can You?
Putting the Pieces Together: The Steps It Takes to Develop a Casino
Building the Fantasy
The Icing on the Cake: The Importance of Architectural Millwork in Casino Design
Designing Today’s Casino Resort: How to Make Entertainment Memorable and Distinctive
Casino Advertising: A Sure Bet!
Understanding Code Issues Related to Riverboat Casinos
Purchasing on a Dime
Under Wraps
Small Business Advice
Working With Team Players...
In My Opinion...
Taking the Gambling Out of Specifying Gaming Furniture
Industry Partner Education
Bios

NEWH - May 2003