RJPC Machine Explained: Jacquard Raschel for Curtain Fabric
RJPC is a jacquard raschel curtain machine: a single-needle-bar raschel warp knitting machine that pairs a piezo-controlled jacquard system with a fall plate. That pairing, not the bar count, is what separates it from a plain raschel machine — the jacquard selects guides electronically, and the fall plate presses the laid yarn down so the figure stands off the ground net.
Search those four letters on their own and you mostly land on a manufacturer category page, second-hand listings, and a scatter of results for RD double needle bar machines, which are a different class of machine altogether. Nobody on the first page answers the buyer’s question, so here it is: what the machine is, how the mechanism makes the fabric, and what to put to a seller before you commit.
What RJPC means, and what it is not
Read the letters as a job description — a raschel machine built for jacquard-patterned curtains. Karl Mayer positions the RJPC 4 F-NN as an all-rounder for home textiles: the same machine runs heavy cloth with a handcrafted look and light, fine, translucent curtain fabric.
The confusion worth clearing up is with the RD series. Those are double needle bar raschel machines, built around two needle bars for spacer and tubular structures. An RJPC works on one needle bar with a fall plate. If a listing offers you an RJPC but describes two needle bars, you are looking at a mislabelled machine or at a different model line, and the pattern capability you are paying for is not there. Our overview of raschel machine types shows where each branch of the family sits.
How the piezo jacquard and the fall plate work together
Three groups of elements move in a fixed division of labour. The piezo jacquard bar sits at the front and only shogs — it moves sideways under electronic selection, guide by guide. The fall plate moves vertically. The ground guide bars behind them both shog and swing through the needles.
Because piezo selection can place a two-needle overlap, the fall plate has something substantial to press on, and the figure lifts off the ground into a raised, three-dimensional relief instead of lying flat in the net. Thread dyed or coloured yarn through the jacquard guides and the figure separates from the ground further still. It is the same fall plate principle used on our fall plate multibar jacquard lace raschel machine, applied at curtain width rather than to lace strips.
One point that gets lost in product copy: the fall plate is not embossing finished cloth. It acts inside the knitting cycle, on yarn that has just been laid — the relief is knitted in, not pressed on afterwards. That is also why a flat-looking sample tells you something about how the machine was set, not only about the yarn that went into it.
What comes off the machine
For this machine class the named end products are country-style cafe curtains, allover patterned curtains with border details, tablecloths and in-betweens. Widen the frame to jacquard raschel machines generally and the list also takes in net curtains, lace curtains, vertical blinds and, outside home textiles, women’s outerwear and headscarf fabrics.
Vertical blind fabric is the clearest case of the mechanism showing up in the product. Sellers describe that cloth by pattern definition, light blocking and surface fineness — which are exactly the three things the jacquard-plus-fall-plate combination controls. To look at the fabric side rather than the machine side, see our jacquard raschel fabric page.
RJPC against the other jacquard raschel routes
| Route | Needle bars | Patterning | Typical output |
|---|---|---|---|
| RJPC jacquard curtain raschel | One | Piezo jacquard bar plus fall plate | Net curtains, in-betweens, tablecloths, cafe curtains, allover patterned panels |
| Multibar jacquard lace raschel | One | Several jacquard bars over the ground bars — our RSJC 5/2 carries three ground bars and four jacquard guide bars in two groups | Dense allover lace, wide patterned lace panels |
| RD double needle bar raschel | Two | Two needle bars working as a pair | Spacer and tubular structures, not curtain jacquard work |
If your order book is net curtains, in-betweens and patterned home-textile panels, and you need relief patterning rather than flat mesh, the RJPC route is the one built for that work. If your product is spacer fabric, tubular goods or double-face structures, this conclusion does not apply to you: you are shopping for a double needle bar machine, and the fall plate argument above is irrelevant to your decision. If you make narrow lace trims rather than curtain-width panels, look at the multibar lace route instead — our RSJC 5/2 page sets out how that configuration is laid out.
What to ask before you buy
Specifications in this class are not published in any consistent way. The pages that rank for this model give the name and the photos and stop there, so put the following to the seller in writing, new machine or used:
- Gauge and working width. Together they decide which curtain widths and yarn counts the machine can actually run. Neither is safe to infer from the model name.
- Bar configuration. How many ground bars, how many jacquard bars, and are the jacquard guides in one group or several? This is the single line that most changes what patterns you can knit.
- Selection system. Piezo selection is what the current generation uses. Older jacquard mechanisms behave differently on pattern change and on maintenance, and that difference shows up every time you switch an article.
- Let-off and take-up. The current RJPC generation is specified with electronic let-off and electronic take-up. Ask explicitly whether the machine in front of you has both — it is the most common difference between generations sold under one model name.
- Control system. The current specification names KAMCOS, with Motion Control and Multi Speed. On a used machine, ask which control generation is fitted and whether pattern data can still be loaded onto it.
- Parts route. Jacquard guide needles, fall plate parts and ground guides are consumables here, not spares you buy once.
If you are comparing this against a new build rather than a used import, our own machine programme is listed on grandstarcn.com.
Where these machines are running
Trade press records the RJPC 4 F-NN as long and widely used among Turkish net curtain makers, and that market remains the main cluster for this machine class. For a buyer it matters in a practical way: where a machine class is concentrated, used machines, trained operators and pattern know-how are concentrated with it, and so is the pool of people who can tell you what a given machine was doing before it was crated.
The wider line: purpose-built raschel machines date from the twelve-bar raschel of 1956, which is what started the raschel lace industry. Curtain jacquard machines are a later branch of that same line, and the vocabulary — bars, guides, fall plate — is inherited straight from it.
Working out which configuration fits the articles you already sell is the part worth doing before you shortlist a machine. Send us the fabric you want to make and the width you sell it in, through our contact page, and we will tell you which bar and selection setup that article needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of machine is an RJPC?
A single-needle-bar raschel warp knitting machine built for jacquard-patterned curtain fabric. It pairs a piezo-controlled jacquard bar with a fall plate, which lifts the figure off the ground net.
How is an RJPC different from a double needle bar RD machine?
RD machines work on two needle bars and are used for spacer and tubular structures. An RJPC works on one needle bar with a fall plate for curtain jacquard work. Check the needle bar count in any listing.
What curtains can an RJPC machine knit?
Country-style cafe curtains, allover patterned curtains with border details, in-betweens and tablecloths. Jacquard raschel machines in general also run net curtains, lace curtains and vertical blind fabric.
What should I ask a seller about a used RJPC?
Gauge and working width, ground and jacquard bar configuration, whether selection is piezo, whether let-off and take-up are electronic, which control generation is fitted, and how guide needles and fall plate parts will be sourced.
Hey, I’m Vincent!
Solving complex challenges with precision and creativity in the warp knitting industry. Passionate about advancing textile engineering and turning innovative ideas into reality. Shaping the future of warp knitting.
