Hi everybody,
I have two HPLC equipments in my lab ( quality control ) and I'm thinking about buying a third one. I have two HP 1100 and I think they are very good, probably the best ones, but I don't have the option to buy another HP again, I have to choose between a Waters and a Varian model. Can anyone tell me anything about them ? I imagine both equipments are quite good, but I don't have heard good things about software and support. How different are they from HP 1100 ?
Thanks,
Ivi

For a QC lab environment, I would select the system that is the easiest to use. Both Waters and Varian make good equipment. Waters Millennium from what I understand is a very good and powerful package, and as a result has a steeper learning curve than other packages. It may be a bit of overkill for a QC environment. However, I don't know what your lab environment dictates. You have to match your needs to what the software can do. One alternative you can consider setting up the system as a "stand alone", i.e. it is not controlled by a PC but rather by the HPLC "system controller", have the analog signal dump into an A/D box, and then to a PC. The PC just waits for a signal and collects data. You can then use something like EasyChrom or TurboChrom or any other package that will process a data feed to collect and process you data. If you do it this way, you can connect up any HLPC.

The second thing to keep in mind regardless of how good the equipment or software is, that is, how good is the service? Do you have someone in house that can service the instrument, or will you have to rely on outside support? No mater how good a piece of equipment is, it is useless while you are waiting for technical support.

Hi; we have both Waters and Varian LC's in our lab; they have both advantages and disadvantages in their systems. As to software the Varian Star is much easier to get up and running and a new user to understand; Millennium, as the previous writer says has a much steeper learning curve; for this I would reccomend the Millenniun training course as mandatory. As to the instrumentation; I would rate Waters pumps as the winner; but they are more difficult to maintain; Varian autosampler is the winner, we have the Waters 996 PDA and it is excellent; just obtained the new Varian Prostar PDA and it looks good. As to service, in our our area, Varian is slightly better than Waters; but both would be rated as good. Hope this helps.

Bill