Repair and Service

Your trusted lab partner for reliable and timely repair and preventative services for FLIPR^® and FLIPR^TETRA® instruments

LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR NEEDS

Don’t compromise your research — keep your instrumentation running at peak performance.

Whether you have a first generation FLIPR^®or a new FLIPR^TETRA® high-throughput cellular screening system, we’ll help you minimize downtime and get the results you need from your instrumentation.

Since Black Dog was founded in 2005, we’ve provided the highest quality technical repair service and preventative maintenance for FLIPR^® fluorescence imaging microplate readers. We continue to service all early generation instruments, including FLIPR^® 1 and FLIPR^® 384 models, as well as the later generation FLIPR^® 2 and FLIPR^® 3. Many of our customers continue to extend the lifetime value of their early generation instruments through our preventative maintenance programs. We have also continued to expand our service offering with every new generation of FLIPR^® instrument, which includes service for FLIPR^TETRA® high-throughput cellular screening systems.

Our team has deep knowledge of fluorescence imaging technology and decades of experience working with FLIPR^® instrumentation. This experience combined with one of the largest spare parts inventory for FLIPR^® microplate readers and FLIPR^TETRA® high-throughput cellular screening systems ensures that we consistently provide our customers the highest quality service in a timely manner.

At Black Dog, we pride ourselves on customer service. Ask any of our clients: Black Dog’s customers come first!

What you can expect from Black Dog service:

Unmatched Customer Support
The foundation of everything we do starts with our customer-focused culture. Our customers always come first, period. We take the time to listen and understand your needs – and, take action based on your feedback. We’re honest and fair in all of our offerings, and always go above and beyond what’s expected when providing service. Most of all, we have the deepest respect for our customers and the importance of their work. We realize that the service we provide can potentially make a difference in your research.

Fast Response
We know that you can’t afford ANY downtime and make every effort to respond immediately to service requests. Ask any Black Dog customer about our response; you will find that we’re known for fast action and responding more quickly than other service organizations. We also have access to one of the largest spare parts inventory for FLIPR^® instruments, which means there’s rarely any delay in getting the job done.

Fair Pricing
We realize that price matters and strive to provide the highest quality service at affordable prices. Many labs operate on a shoestring budget and are compelled to cut corners, including when it comes to instrument maintenance. Black Dog provides a cost-effective alternative to quality service for your FLIPR^® and FLIPR^TETRA® instruments, so you don’t have to compromise your research by postponing needed repairs or maintenance. Count on Black Dog to keep your instruments operating at peak performance without breaking your budget. We’ll always present all viable service options and recommend the most cost-effective approach — without compromising quality. And, we’ll never up-sell to expensive parts or a replacement instrument that you don’t need.

Accurate, Reliable Instrument Performance
Our team has decades of experience servicing fluorescence microplate readers and high-throughput screening instrumentation. Our deep knowledge and vast experience with the technology ensures you the highest quality service and an instrument that provides accurate, reliable operation.

Selection Guide for FLIPR^® and FLIPR^TETRA® Instrument Service

	Repair Service On Demand	Preventative Maintenance On Demand	SILVER Preventative Maintenance Contract	GOLD Full Service Contract
Service Cost	Time and material billing with hourly labor charge	Set Price for PM Service	Contract Price	Contract Price
Number of comprehensive Preventative Maintenance services performed	0	1	2 Semi-annual during contract period	2 Semi-annual during contract period
Labor discount	0%	0%	10%	Labor Included
Zone travel / travel expenses included	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Parts (if needed)	Billed to Customer 0% Discount	Billed to Customer 0% Discount	Billed to Customer 10% Discount	Parts Included
Priority Scheduling	No	No	Yes	Yes

Repair Service On Demand

Time and material billing with hourly labor charge
Zone travel/travel expenses billed to customer
Parts (if needed) billed to customer

Preventative Maintenance (PM) On Demand

Set price for one (1) PM service
Zone travel/travel expenses included
Parts (if needed) billed to customer

Preventative Maintenance (PM) Contract

Contract price includes two (2) semi-annual Preventative Maintenance services; each PM requires 12-16 hrs to complete
Labor discounted at 10%
Zone travel/travel expenses included
Spare parts (if needed) billed to customer at 10% discount
Priority scheduling

Full Service Contract

Contract price includes two (2) semi-annual Preventative Maintenance services; each PM requires 12-16 hrs to complete
Labor discounted at 20%
Zone travel/travel expenses included
Spare parts (if needed) included
Priority scheduling

Here’s what our customers are saying about working with us:

And, if you want to talk directly to one of our customers, we can arrange that too.

“The Black Dog refurbished FLIPR^® functions well, demonstrating excellent reproducibility. The equipment is also easy to use. Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the customer service provided by Black Dog. I appreciate their willingness to use refurbished parts to work within our budget, quality of repair work, and promptness in responding to issues.”

Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmacology

“Tom and Sean at Blackdog Technical Services went out of their way to refurbish an old FLIPR for us about 12 years ago. After that, they invariably have provided outstanding maintenance and service. I recommend Blackdog Technical Services without reservations.”

Assistant Professor
Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology
School of Medicine

We asked a few of our customers to describe Black Dog in one word.
Here’s what they said:

Honest. Professional. Knowledgeable. Exceptional. Awesome!

The Black Dog Service Difference:

Our customers have noticed a difference in their research results after Black Dog service — we call this the “Black Dog Difference”. A generous customer passed on the following information, unsolicited. The first two graphs represent data the customer achieved prior to switching to Black Dog as their service provider. The next two graphs represent the data they generated after Black Dog performed Preventative Maintenance on their FLIPR^® fluorescence reader. Our Preventative Maintenance is comprehensive; the complete PM process typically takes 12 to 16 hours to complete. After the PM is complete, we provide a detailed service report with both pre-PM and post-PM results, findings, and recommendations. We have found that routine preventative maintenance can further optimize the capabilities of your FLIPR^® fluorescence microplate reader.

BEFORE Black Dog Preventative Maintenance

These graphs show dose response curves of two different agonist compounds on the cell line prior to Preventative Maintenance performed by Black Dog Technical Services.

AFTER Black Dog Preventative Maintenance

These graphs show the same agonist compounds using identical incubation times, cells, buffers, and dyes after the Preventative Maintenance by Black Dog Technical Services. After the PM, the amount of scatter is greatly reduced allowing better curve fitting and reproducible IC50s.