Regardless of whether you want to measure a powder, granules, a solid object, or liquids, exact measurements are vital in any scientific or industrial application. Torbal Scales are excellent tools that can provide accurate readings on a milligram scale, but there is some skill required in taking perfectly accurate measurements. Generally, keeping the following points in mind when making measurements will prevent errors in measurement due to inaccurate readings.
 
Tare
 
This just means you want to calibrate the balance after you add your weigh boat, paper, or container. While the container is still empty or the weigh boat has nothing in it, place it on the scale and hit the tare button. This will zero the scale so you don't accidentally add the weight of your boat, paper, or container to the weight of the actual substance you want to measure.
 
Post-weight
 
If you're measuring something that's sticky or that needs to be as accurate as possible, measuring the weigh boat after removing your substance of interest is a great idea. Let's say you're interested in measuring 10 milligrams of a powder. If you've tared your weigh paper and measured your 10 milligrams, weigh the paper after dumping the powder into its final container before you re-tare the balance. You might find the paper weighs a milligram or two more than it did before you put the powder on it. That could be some residue left over from the powder that sat on the paper and that didn't come off when it was poured out.
 
Small amounts can be the most difficult to accurately weigh. If it turns out that not all the powder poured off the weigh paper, subtract that small weight increase from the actual amount of powder weighed. This is a difficult issue to correct, but it will lead to more accurate records.
 
Wait
 
Patience is vital in almost anything. When taking weight measurements, it's important to let the balance equalize to get an optimal reading. Give it a moment to allow the number to stop changing. You might want to consider closing the glass doors if your measurement doesn't stabilize within about 30 seconds.
 
There is an art to making accurate measurements and many associated tricks and skills that go into doing it just right. For more information on optimizing your weighing procedure or in finding the perfect instrument for your applications needs, don't hesitate to contact us.