It’s tough to start a journey without a map. You might have a general idea of where you’re going but there’s a greater chance of making mistakes, getting lost, and wasting time without a map or GPS showing you exactly where you can find each street and major landmark.

Buying or servicing lab equipment without at least some information to get you started can be just as difficult as trying to get somewhere without a map.

Our goal in compiling this year’s Lab Manager Product Resource Guide (PRG) is the same as always—bringing our readers the critical information they need to make the best lab equipment purchasing decisions, all in one convenient publication. Each year, we get better and better at meeting that goal as we continue to add key pieces to our editorial while simplifying the presentation.

Last year, for example, saw us swap reprints of our Product Focus articles in each product category for lists of questions you should ask when buying those products as well as key survey data. We also added a list of distributors and laboratory apps to the back of the book to further assist our readers.

This year, our fourth putting out this guide, we have added lists of the main signs you should look for to know when it’s time to service or replace your equipment. Of course, the Internet is also an important resource and we will provide extra content in the labmanager.com version of the guide to help you with more specific product categories.

We hope you find this year’s PRG a great starting off point in purchasing, maintaining and replacing your lab equipment.

All the best,
Rachel Muenz
Assistant Editor