ANALYTICAL EDITORIAL
May 1969, Vol. 41, No. 6 Editor: HERBERT A. W I N E N EDITORIAL HEADQUARTERS Washington D C. 20036 1155 Skteeith St N W Phone: 202-737-31333Teletype WA 23 Managing Editor: John K. Crum Associate Editorr: Jomephine Pechan, Virginia E. Stewart Editorial Assiatants: Eugenie C. Callaghan, Ana Sol de GutiGrez Contributing Editor: R. H. Miiller Produciion Staff-Wwhington: Director of Dedgn: Joaeph Jacobs Production Manuser: Bacil Guiley Art and Layout:
Norman W. Favin
Production Staff-Ewton, Pa.: Associate Editor:
Charlotte C. Sayre
A81btant Editor: Elizabeth R. Rufe Advisory Board: Klaus Biemann, A. E. Cameron Lyman Craig Henry F r e h John FGkhoueer, March Golay, D. R: Johneon, Joseph Jordan D. W. Margerum, W Wayne Meinke R A' Oster oung R L P&ok. C. N. Reiey: A: Lee &ith,*Jamd D. Winefordner AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS Director of Publication#. Richard L. Kenyon Director of Businear Operations, Joaeph H. Kuney Publication Manager, Jour&, David E. Gunhee Executive Assietant to the Director of Publications, Rodney N. Hader Circulation Dewlopment Manager, Herbert C. Spencer AarLtant to the D i m t o r of Publications. William Q. Hull REGIONAL EDITORIAL BUREAUS NEW YORK. N. Y. 10017 733 Thud Ave. PHILADELPHIA Pa. 19107 Philadelphia Natioml Bank Building Broad & Chestnut Streeta PITISBURGH, Pa. 15219 530 William Penn Place CHICAGO, Ill. 60603 36 South Wabaah Ave. CLEVELAND Ohio 4.4114 1367 East Siad St. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. 94104 57 Post St. LOSANGELES Calif. 9OOO5 422 South Weatem Ave. HOUSTON Texas 77002 514 Main Bide. 1212 Main St. FRANKFURT/MAlN Wwt Gsrrmny 32 Groese Bockenheim&traase LONDON, W. C. 2, England 27 John Adam St. TOKYO Japan Iikura CLntral Building 4th Floor 12 Iikura Kata-machi, L b u Minato-ku, Tokyo WASHINGTON, D. C. 20036 1155 S i n t h St., N. W.
Leasing of Analytical Instruments in Instrument News (Vol, 19, No. 3, p. 2, 1969), IsionNathaniel Brenner, Director of Marketing of the Instrument Diviof Perkin-Elmer Corporation, discusses the merits of leasing, rather N AN EDITORIAL
than outright purchasing, of analytical instruments. He states that it is the services, rather than the ownership of instruments that are of value to a corporation, and that analytical instruments in this respect are comparable with other assets that depreciate in value with timee.g., machine tools, vehicles, and computers. A particularly important advantage t o be sought is the mitigation of the problem of obsolescence. Every chemist is familiar with examples of research equipment that have become obsolete, either because of improvements in instrumentation or the development of competing analytical methods. Besides, the mission of a laboratory may change with a corresponding change in its instrumentation requirements. Finally, from the viewpoint of fiscal management , leasing is attractive in replacing sporadic capital outlays by monthly operating costs reflecting services rendered. Yet, from the viewpoint of the analytical research chemist, leasing could also have disadvantages. An instrument is not necessarily just a machine to provide services. It may indeed be the raw material for research, and in this case only outright ownership could provide the freedom to make substantial alterations in the original design, if necessary, to effect the purposes of the research. Some types of research equipment, in fact, are best designed not as integral units but in a modular form to offer flexibility to make rapid and convenient changes to meet changing needs. From the fiscal viewpoint, there are many instances, especially in academic institutions, in which nonrecurring capital appropriations are more readily available than operating funds. It appears that there is no universally valid answer to the question of the relative merits of leasing versus ownership, and that the fraction of the instrumentation to be acquired by the two methods may logically vary rather widely from one laboratory to another.
Adwrtising Management REINHOLD PUBLISHING GORP (for Branch Offices, see page 143 A)
For submission of manuscripts, see
page 2 A .
VOL. 41, NO. 6,MAY 1969
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