LABWARE PREP™ SERVICES
Pre-barcoded labware, advanced sample identification and preparation.
Pre-barcoded laboratory services allow you to receive your labware already labeled, tared, sorted, and kitted to your specifications. With this service, you can experience significant time, budget, staffing, and inventory savings. Our flexible laboratory service program is the preferred choice for organizations focused on pharmaceutical development, biotechnology, clinical studies, and repository storage.
Pre-scientific preparation for strategic laboratory management
At Computype we’re happy to specialize in preparation. We’ve invested a lot of years, experience, and resources in perfecting the supply of pre-barcoded and prepared labware. The result is a service that’s tried and trusted for accuracy, quality and reliability.
What is Labware Prep™ Services?
Labware Prep™ Services eliminate the in-house prep work needed before testing and analysis. These meticulous tasks can slow down any lab and lead to mislabeled or lost samples.
Ultimately, our goal is to help reduce friction in your laboratory by providing fully prepared labware and sample containers—ready to use immediately out of the box
Can laboratory prep tasks impact quality?
Yes, absolutely. Ensuring accurate test results, smooth-flowing workflows, reliable global data, and safe handling for samples all require proper preparation. Sample tracking and identification must be reliable, consistent, complete, and accessible. Utilizing labware that has already been procured, marked, tared, and packaged according to usage guidelines is a solution that is specifically aligned with the complex and nuanced demands within laboratories.
Automation Performance
Proper positioning and placement for barcodes is critical for successful scans—particularly when automation is involved. Precise, consistent label application is required if your labware needs to pass by a stationary scanner within your automated workflow to avoid stoppages or lost samples.
Data Hygiene
Data-driven laboratories ensure that your resources can be used in the most productive ways, the quality and timeliness of your data can be trusted, and samples can be tracked throughout their entire journey with no gaps in visibility. With the proper support and planning, this can be easily achieved.
Workflow Reliability
Ensure smooth-flowing, reliable, and efficient workflows in your lab with careful sample preparation and data management. These tasks will provide the backbone for your workflows and procedures. Working with a partner can help offset the exacting, laborious nature of these tasks.
Biggest challenges resulting from in-house sample management strategies
For organizations and laboratories relying on compounds and samples for research every day—correctly identifying and tracking each plate, tube, or vial requires meticulous, time-consuming labor. We hear several points of frustration from laboratories and research teams attempting to manage these finicky tasks in-house, here are some of the top issues we see with in-house labeling and tracking.
research stalled by prep tasks
Preparation tasks are essential, but they reduce the capacity of a team to carry out its core, most productive scientific activities. The costs incurred through under-utilizing scarce resources must be compared to the research that isn’t getting performed when your staff’s time is spent on administrative, non-scientific activities.
reduced throughput speeds
In facilities where any degree of manual processing takes place, throughput speeds are compromised. Although an automatic label applicator can certainly improve throughput speeds, so can eliminating labeling from your laboratory altogether.
errors, rework, and lost data
As long as human intervention is part of a process, errors can and will be made. Given the safety and security considerations relating to many compounds, blood products, controlled substances, or volatile materials, reducing or eliminating human error potential is a constant challenge and priority.
Benefit from advanced marking technologies only available through Labware Prep™ Services
Some identification solutions are simply not attainable via in-house strategies. The time, specialty equipment, and training required for advanced sample identification strategies, including ceramic bonding and cured ink direct marking, are not feasible for any laboratory to take on itself. These technologies, however, are often required due to the extreme chemical and temperature exposures that many labs need their samples to endure—which cannot always be accomplished by standard adhesive labels. Take a look at our case study to see how our cured ink barcoding helped in one lab, or click below to explore all of our marking technologies.
Procuring, labeling, and prepping your labware
Labware procurement from glass vials to plastic caps—receive your labware prepared for your needs
Save time, effort, and money using Computype – and our buying power – to source your labware. Instead of reaching out to your labware supplier for vials and plates, your label supplier for labels, and your printer company for inks and ribbons, you can single source all of your labware preparation needs with our laboratory services program. While we commonly support high recovery vials, microplates, molded vials, open top tubes, etc—you choose the labware you need, including a preferred manufacturer so you can have complete confidence in your containers.
Nase-Controlled Production
Be confident your labware has been unpacked, marked, and re-packaged in a Nase-controlled environment. Your pre-labeled labware is ready to use when DNA or RNA contamination must be avoided. Staff can concentrate on their core tasks.
Pre-Tared Labware
Benefit from having your labware pre-weighed, cataloged, and ready to use as soon as it arrives on site. Each item weighed to a tenth of a milligram accuracy – +/- 0.2 or 0.5mg depending on the label material or marking technology.
Sorting, Kitting, Packaging
Computype performs capping or de-capping, plugging, racking, and sorting tasks. Labware and kits assembled to your bespoke specifications, including brand standards. Labware is immediately ready to use upon delivery.
Labware labeling, advanced barcoding, and color marking for samples and specimens
Data Carriers: Barcoding and RFID
We will help you determine the right data carrier to fit your labware and sample. We support multiple barcode symbologies including linear, 2D, and datamatrix codes, as well as custom RFID strategies.
Labeling Applications
In addition to standard adhesive labels, we have multiple advanced barcoding and marking technologies setup in our facility to support cured ink, ceramic, fused, and laser marking.
Custom and Functional Markings
Color Coding: This is a great strategy for at-a-glance identification and the opportunities we provide to incorporate color are extremely flexible. Most often we will add a color circle to the bottom of your tube or vial, but you could also consider color caps, color stripes, etc.
Fill Lines, Graduated Measurement Lines: Grad lines are one of our most common marking types. These functional marks are typically done with our cured ink direct mark technology, and this simple enhancement can have a significant impact.
Additional Solutions:
- Write-On Patches
- Logos and Branding
- Multiple Codes (e.g. linear barcode on side of tube, 2D code on cap)
Advanced barcoding and marking technologies for laboratory samples
Pressure Sensitive
Standard adhesive labels with custom sequential barcodes
Pressure-sensitive labels are cost-effective and reliably constructed out of either polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene, with the proper face stock and adhesive to suit your needs.
Direct Mark
Near-permanent marking achieved by curing inks directly to the surface
This versatile technology prints and cures specially formulated ink directly to the surface of glass or plastic labware. Perfect for grad lines, color logos, and more.
Ceramic
Permanent bonding for high-value samples or long-term cryogenic storage
Ceramic IDs are made from a special clay that will permanently bond to a glass container—guaranteed to survive as long as the container itself.
Fused
Highly durable bonded markings to survive a variety of exposures
Bonded directly to the surface of your glass vials, fused labels are highly durable—withstanding temperatures as high as 230°C, as well as chemical soaks.
Laser Etching
Etched laser marking suitable for nearly any container material
Laser marking technology is suitable for metal, plastic, and glass, and can print on both flat and curved surfaces—providing strong chemical, temperature and abrasion resistance.
RFID
Custom RFID solutions designed to increase connectivity in your lab
RFID technology allows for greater security, increased tracking abilities, and higher data capacities. Find out if your lab could implement an RFID strategy.
Digitally identify, track, and monitor your samples and specimens
Sequence management and data integration to support laboratory information
We’re adept at achieving secure sequencing customized to your numbering convention and ensuring no duplicates. Errors and the time and expense of correcting them are reduced, and compatibility with your systems is guaranteed. This relieves you from the time and effort required for self-managed sequencing and reduces the risk of costly duplication errors. Preserving sequence integrity ensures we can employ your data to support studies and customer-specific data marking needs.
Our Digital Traceability Platform enhances and enables scientific processes and the delivery of laboratory information. This solution creates an overlay connecting existing digital systems (LIMS, Warehouse Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, etc.) to provide a centralized data hub. Many laboratories must pull information from several sources when moving assets through their workflows and reporting on fundamental metrics. The Digital Traceability Platform would allow laboratory staff to access all of their information through one interface.
Digital Traceability Platform
Centralized hub of data
Customer-defined dashboard widgets display at-a-glance metrics and status updates for assets Customer-defined dashboard widgets display at-a-glance
Immutable chain of custody
All status and location updates are recorded. No changes are erased for reliable chain of custody history and worry-free audits.
Callouts
Callouts highlight events which require attention. Callouts may indicate invalid item states, expiry of certificates, stock outages or whatever is germane to your activities.
Machine learning
Digital traceability applies an ensemble of different heuristics and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and predict potential outcomes.
Labware Prep™ Service Details
Ready-to-use labware and sample containers – prepped, packaged, and fit for your needs.
Prepared labware services begin with pre-barcoded labware and add additional features, including tare weighing, sorting, kitting, etc. This service program aims to reduce laborious laboratory prep work, eliminate pre-analytical testing variables, and protect the lab’s sample and data integrity.
Our approach allows each laboratory to determine which service elements will add value to its bottom line and dismiss any redundant features. Our identification and tracking experts work with each lab to understand their workflows, the demands of their environment and testing procedures, any restraints in their facility or resources, and their budgetary needs to create a tailored solution.
We support scientific and medical research by providing labware ready to use immediately upon delivery – labeled, weighed, sorted, racked, and prepared to the most precise specifications. Pre-barcoded labware and preparation services ultimately allow laboratories to strengthen their focus on their own goals, optimize resources, and increase efficiency, accuracy, and consistency.
Protecting patient info
When tracking human samples, protecting personally identifiable (PII) information is just as important as keeping track of the sample and its history, including testing details and results. We can help assign a unique identifier to be securely associated with the PII within your LIMS—ensuring your patient’s privacy is never compromised.
risk, regulation, return
When calculating your return with Labware Prep™ Services it is important to remember all of the associated costs that come with preparing your own labware, as well as the cost of lost or damaged samples. We offer this service to support risk management just as much as we do to help with efficiency and growth.
Quality & Trust
We’ve been involved in creating new standards and innovations for identification and tracking in laboratories for nearly 50 years. Before you allow us into your processes, know that we understand the responsibility and trust required in this industry and that we uphold that steadfast commitment every step of the way.
Labware Prep™ Express Service
Need a quick turnaround? Take advantage of our Express service offering and receive up to 5,000 pieces of pre-marked labware in as little as 48 hours.
This solution eliminates previous friction and opens the door for more laboratories to benefit from this service, including those printing variable data. Labware Prep™ Express requires an initial 2-week setup process for us to learn your requirements and develop a quick turn procedure for your order.
Download our quick guide for more details on this Express service, or fill out the form below to get started with a free, no-commitment consultation to discuss your initial setup requirements.
