Is Microscope Rental a good option?

McBain has been renting out microscopes for many years and for some organizations we recommend renting a microscope instead of buying a new microscope. There are costs and benefits associated with the rental vs. outright purchase. Let’s examine situations where you might consider renting a microscope.

Short-Term Projects

When your project is short term and the project requires microscopy equipment that is essential to the project but not required long-term. If you require a microscope now but do not foresee using it again in the future this would prompt a case for renting. One example of this may be government contract that specifies equipment that is outside your normal scope. In this case you might rent a microscope from McBain with the benefit of containing the cost within the project itself.

Another example would be renting a microscope for a Hollywood movie or Television show.  Renting equipment allows the show to portray a realistic perception without the high costs or multiple headaches of buying and maintaining the equipment.  McBain has been a production set supplier of microscopes and microscopy equipment to major T.V. series like X-Files and Bosch. With McBain’s close proximity to Hollywood we welcome inquiries from any production company in need of microscopy equipment rentals for forensics, biology, science, or other purposes.  Contact us about your requirements.

Proof of Concept

This could be a situation where extended testing is required to prove the usefulness of a microscope system. In this case you may choose to rent first so that you can make a purchase based on how well the microscope performs during the rental period. An example of this may be the comparison of a McBain inspection system for wafer defect inspection vs. the procurement of an automated wafer system that may cost 10x more.

Educational Experiment

A university may have a situation where students are doing a special type of research that requires new or unique microscopy equipment. In these cases the school may not have adequate budget to procure the equipment or the researcher might have need to expedite and the rental is simply a faster option.

Whatever your situation is – McBain’s sales team will let you know if we have an option that allows you to rent a microscope.