A method for preparing a needled preform comprises transporting, cutting and needling a textile tape. The method further comprises cutting through a portion of the textile tape with a cutting device. The textile tape remains substantially contiguous after the cutting. The method further comprises needling the textile tape into a needled preform after cutting the textile tape, and the needling utilizes needles having working surfaces oriented in a direction to transfer fiber segments from a selected fiber orientation into a z-direction. In an embodiment, a system for enabling z-fiber transfer in a textile tape comprises a textile support configured to transport the textile tape, a cutting device configured to cut a portion of the textile tape, and a needling device configured to needle the textile tape into a needled preform after the cutting device cuts the textile tape.