Chromeleon vs Empower

[Spacerman]

Hi,

We are in the market for a new LC HPLC/UHPLC. Now we have one system, Ultimate 3000 BioRS + Chromelon 7.2 ES MUb, and are looking for a simliar system from Thermo (again) or Waters. The focus is SEC/GFC and standard UV-Vis Multi wave >3 wavelength detector. Our area is R&D/manufacturing for in-vitro-use.

My guess is, that the software is the biggest difference given my rather easy task to perform, hence my question for you users, with experience from both Chromeleon and Empower. What is the biggest differences between Chromeleon and Empower? What am I missing in Chromeleon which is found in Empower given the needs presented above?

It took some time learning Chromeleon coming from Unicorn (prep system vs analytical), but once I learnt how Chromeleon works it gets very powerful because of the way everything is so easy to customize (even the UI).

However, what I find lacking in Chromeleon is:
Buffer Library for buffer screening using automated quatenary mixing (found in Unicorn)
Possibility to set gradient variables as custom variables
An even better column performance tracking system than using Query + custom variable.

Thanks,
Peter

[EmpowersBane]

Chromeleon is inferior to Empower and im very surprised labs still use it these days, given how much of the market share belongs to Waters. Chromeleon seems popular on this forum and maybe reflects the older usage base and the testing in university research or small scale labs. Certainly im in Europe and i have never once seen it used in the 5 modern labs i have worked in.
Empower offers pda processing methods with a huge database of libraries for your compounds, custom fields to calculate practically any formula and apply it to peak or result data. The range of HPLC, UPLC, H Class and GC plus Ark instrumentation is state of the art. The only downside with it is quite a steep learning curve using the software, especially with custom fields, but once mastered, they are an invaluable addition to your lab.