Dear microscopists, based on the latest usage figures and cost calculations, the new FILM charges have now been calculated, which will be used from *next quarter (1 April 2012)*. In line with Tony's message last Friday, you will notice that due to good usage confocals are now indeed cheaper than before (down 5% from £40 to £38 per hour). So it really does work - the more you use FILM, the cheaper it gets! And thanks to all our users for your loyalty! Also worth noting is that our own staff time is relatively cheap. If you have complicated experiments, it's well worth considering booking 2-3 hours of our dedicated time to get them off the ground, especially at the very beginning of a microscopy project. It might well be cheaper than spending a long time on your own trying to get it to work. As ever, we don't charge for the 2-3 hour training sessions, and we are always happy to give help and advice, but for more demanding projects, dedicated staff time is a good opportunity to get more continuous support time from us. *The new charging rates from 1 April 2012 are:* * Widefield microscopes: £24 per hour * Confocal microscopes: £38 per hour * Multiphoton laser: £24 per hour (in addition to the standard confocal charge) * Software (Volocity and Definiens): £5 per hour * Staff assistance: £31 per hour -> general assistance and training remain free!! For your information: Based on the FEC calculations by Research Support Services and taking into account the latest usage figures and cost caluclations, the charges are decided by the FILM steering committee, consisting of professors Tony Magee (head of FILM), Mike Ferenczi and Dan Davis and myself. For grant applications, please always use the rates published by Research Support Services. Follow the link on the FILM website / GUIDELINES / CHARGES / GRANT APPLICATIONS / RSS WEBSITE and scroll down to CENTRAL FACILITY CHARGE OUT LISTS. <http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/portal/page/portallive/imagingfacility/facility_guidelines/charges#grant_applications>. Good imaging, Martin PS: if you missed Tony's email, see the FILM Mailman archive at <http://mailman.ic.ac.uk/pipermail/film-users/2012/000179.html> -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Martin Spitaler, PhD* *FILM - Facility for Imaging by Light Microscopy* - Facility Manager - Sir Alexander Fleming Building, desk 401 Imperial College London / South Kensington Exhibition Road London SW7 2AZ UK Tel. +44-(0)20-759-42023 E-mail m.spitaler@imperial.ac.uk <mailto:m.spitaler@imperial.ac.uk> Website: http://imperial.ac.uk/imagingfacility