VERY IMPORTANT: Please ask your shipping department to include our general e-mail [email protected] in the "e-mail notifications" when your specimens ship or if there is an exception.
We will follow up with you if we never get your specimens.
1) PLEASE PROTECT YOUR SPECIMENS WITH SOFT PACKING MATERIAL: Specimens in direct contact with each other or even cardboard can develop significant appearance problems or changes in mechanical properties during shipment. Scuffing and abrasion is a problem even with stacked, flat specimens. For all specimens please use an appropriate slip materials, foam sheeting, or bubble wrap.
2) PLEASE INCLUDE WITH YOUR SPECIMENS: A Purchase Order (and/or number) or other documentation indicating the test standard to be run, the length of exposure, and any special handling or mounting required. When this information is not included, it causes delays in the start of your test. A paper copy of any email conversation indicating the above is also acceptable. We will start your exposure without a PO, but will not return them without one in our files.
3) IN ORDER TO PROVIDE PROPERLY EXPOSED MATERIALS FOR YOUR AFTER-EXPOSURE TESTING OR EVALUATION:
For sheet and web materials, please send substantially more material than is needed and a cut list for your finished specimens. We will do our best to avoid clips, holes, and mounting springs in contact with anything being tested.
(As an example, it is not possible for us to properly mount a Taber disk without it being a problem for you after exposure.)
For web materials, 28" (70 cm) allows mounting with minimal or no clips against your finished cut specimen.
For sheet materials, please indicate warp or machine direction and send 28" (70 cm) minimum length or width.
PLEASE INDICATE THE SIDE TO FACE THE LIGHT.
4) THREE DIMENSIONAL SPECIMENS may require the specimen to be closer or further from the light than the optimum plane of equal irradiance. We provide mounting photos at no additional charge shortly after the start of exposure if the specimens are anything other than flat and at the normal plane of exposure.
NOTE: Our exposure parameters stated are valid at the plane of the rack only; three dimensional specimens will not meet the parameters as precisely as flat specimens and may be over-exposed or under-exposed depending on mounting.
5) SPECIMEN HANDLING, CUTTING, CLEANING, and MOUNTING: If we can mount your specimens in under 0.5 hours, no additional charges are incurred. We will need to drill small holes, add clips, or clamp into a holder in some fashion. Specimens which arrive with assembly lubricants that need cleaning, too large to mount, require time to cut or disassemble will incur lab charges of $150/hr.
6) RETURN SHIPPING: Your specimens will be individually wrapped, then stretch wrapped to protect them during shipment regardless of how they arrive.
US CUSTOMERS:
1) Payment: We accept purchase orders with Net 30 payment terms for end users and commercial labs. ACH and checks preferred, for invoices under $2,000 we can accept a credit card.
2) We ONLY ship FedEx or FedEx Ground pre-paid and added to the invoice. We can use your FedEx account number if provided. Unless specified your shipment will return via FedEx 2-Day to the address on the PO.
3) We do not charge sales tax to states other than NY, NJ, CT, OH, PA, or MI. Your company is responsible for any local sales or use tax due. Sales tax is charged by default unless the PO specifically states the purchase is tax exempt or we have a sales tax exemption letter on file less than 12 months old.
INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS:
1) Payment: Payment in full, in advance unless you have done business with us previously.
2) Return shipping is via the carrier of your choice, against your company account or other courier arrangement.
Your company is responsible for determining the value of the shipment and any customs, duties, VAT, or brokerage fees.
We cannot estimate charges for the many countries we return samples.
NOTE: Insuring your shipment for the full value of the testing may cause your company to incur excessive charges to your account. The specimens themselves carry no commercial value. In general, you can value your samples at less than $10 and incur no charges other than shipping. This does, however, put your specimens at risk for total loss. The invoice for our testing remains valid.
