Table 5.

Summary of reproducibility, acquisition resolution, the advantages and the disadvantages of four different matrix deposition methods are listed here for air brushes and the ImagePrep station (matrix nebulising/spray instruments) as well as the ChIP-1000 and Labcyte Portrait (matrix printing instruments).

	Nebulising instruments		Printers
	Air brush	ImagePrep station	ChIP-1000	Labcyte Portrait
Reproducibility	Poor	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Acquisition resolution	≥5 μm	≥20 μm	≥150 μm	≥150 μm
Advantages	Cheap	Automated	Automated	Automated
	High resolution MS acquisition	High resolution MS acquisition	Control over reagent volume deposited	Control over reagent volume deposited
	Good for start up imaging MS laboratories	Default methods available but methods can be modified by user	High MS sensitivity	High MS sensitivity
Disadvantages	Lower peptide/protein incorporation into matrix	Lower peptide/protein incorporation into matrix	Expensive	Most expensive
	Requires experienced user	Requires experienced user	Time consuming preparation	Time consuming preparation
	Manual preparation	Expensive	Lower data acquisition resolution than nebulised preparations	Lower data acquisition resolution than nebulised preparations