2014 Pipettes Survey Results
Pipettes can be found in almost every laboratory and, if you’re looking to buy one, there are many options— manual or electronic, single or multi-channel. Luckily, a few main considerations can help in deciding whether or not to buy the latest pipette technology.
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Trevor Henderson, PhD
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Trevor Henderson BSc (HK), MSc, PhD (c), is the creative services director at Lab Manager. He has more than two decades of experience in the fields of scientific...
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Top 5 Questions You Should Ask When Buying a Pipette
- What differentiates the pipette from others offered in terms of performance and ergonomics?
- Is the product compatible with other manufacturers’ consumables (tips)?
- What types of services are offered for this product? Calibration? Repair?
- Does the company offer application support and technical phone support before and after product purchase?
- What is the product life expectation? What is the product’s warranty period? If the company discontinues the product, for how many years do they provide accessories and parts for the instrument?
Types of pipettes used by survey respondents:
| Manual: Single-channel | 32% |
| Manual: Multi-channel | 19% |
| Manual: Fixed volume | 14% |
| Electronic: Single-channel | 10% |
| Electronic: Multi-channel | 8% |
| Electronic: Fixed volume | 3% |
| Repeater | 13% |
| Other | 1% |
Estimated daily time spent using a pipette as reported by survey respondents:
| Less than 1 hour | 25% |
| 1 - 2 hours | 31% |
| 2 - 3 hours | 23% |
| Over 3 hours | 22% |
Nearly 40% of respondents plan on purchasing a pipette in the next year. The reasons for these purchases are as follows:
 | Replacement of aging pipette |  |
 | Addition to existing systems, increase capacity | |
 | Setting up a new lab | |
 | Moving from a handheld pipette to an automatic pipette | |
 | Other | |
 | Need a more ergonomic pipette |
Top 10 features/factors respondents look for when purchasing an ELN:
| Consistent performance and accuracy of product | 90% |
| Durability of Product | 81% |
| Availability of Tips and Accessories | 75% |
| Low Maintenance / Easy to Clean | 63% |
| Designed to Permit Recalibration | 58% |
| Price | 58% |
| Service and Support | 49% |
| Warranties | 48% |
| Ergonomic Operation | 47% |
| Leak Detection | 43% |
Completed Surveys: 907
For more information on pipettes, including useful articles and a list of manufacturers, visit www.labmanager.com/pipettes