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LabArchives is a research notebook, widely used in academia. Seal runs development, the lab, the batch and quality.

Seal, the GxP execution system, is your eBR, your QMS and more. Neil, your AI agent, does the paperwork across your systems. You sign. MiAlgae cut documentation time by 75%. Start with one process beside LabArchives.

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Where LabArchives falls short.

From LabArchives’ own pages and help centre, and its partner Proofig AI.

  • Research data
    ELN for Research
    Lab stock and kit
    Inventory, Scheduler
    Teaching
    ELN for Education
    QC, batches, quality
    None named

    It stops short of QC and manufacturing.

    LabArchives’ products support research data management, inventory tracking, resource scheduling and course management. Its home page names no QC testing, batch records or quality management. In Seal, the notebook, QC, the batch and quality are one set of records.

    LabArchives, home page
  • A notebook
    “much like a traditional file system”
    Inside it
    Folders, pages, entries
    Seal, a reagent lot
    A record, linked to each run

    A page in a folder tree.

    LabArchives notebooks are “structured much like a traditional file system”, of folders, pages and entries. In Seal, a reagent lot is a record, linked to every run that used it.

    LabArchives Help Center, January 2026
  • LabArchives
    “endless possibilities for customization”
    Its first tip
    “Create Notebook Policies and Procedures”
    Seal
    Neil, then your approval

    Fitting it is left to each team.

    LabArchives’ first getting-started tip asks each team to settle its own structure, naming conventions, templates and tags. In Seal, Neil configures the first process from your procedure, and your team approves it.

    LabArchives Help Center, September 2025
  • Luma
    Queries in natural language
    Proofig AI, May 2026
    Screens images
    Neil
    Drafts the change

    Its AI sits beside the notebook.

    Luma, a Dotmatics platform, runs queries written in natural language, and Proofig AI screens notebook images in its own product. Neil prepares the change itself and the paperwork around it, for your team to approve.

    Proofig AI, May 2026

See it in Seal.

Real Seal screens with fictional test data: a protocol, the experiment run from it, and a release test on the same records.

  1. 1

    A protocol, structured.

    PR-014 defines each parameter, keeps the calculation with its units, and says what it may be used for.

    Protocol PR-014, assay development, in Seal: a preparation instruction, a table of parameters with defined values and what each experiment records, the method reference and its intended use as a research comparison, not a released QC method.
    1. Units and calculation keptDilute to 2 mg/mL in 10 mL, with the calculation retained.
    2. Structured, not free textEach parameter with its defined value and what the experiment records.
    3. Its intended useResearch comparison; not a released QC method.
  2. 2

    The experiment, linked.

    EXP-043 links its protocol and reagent lot, keeps the instrument file, and is compared with earlier runs.

    Experiment EXP-043, incubation comparison, in Seal: linked protocol PR-014 and reagent lot RG-018, the recorded incubation time, relative signal and source file, and a table comparing it with runs EXP-041 and EXP-042.
    1. Linked to protocol and lotPR-014 and reagent lot RG-018, as records.
    2. Values with their source file30 minutes and 0.76 relative signal, from EXP-043-reader.csv.
    3. Runs comparedSame incubation, different reagent lots; cause not yet established.
  3. 3

    Each result with its method and source.

    Release test S-041-12: every result carries its method version, instrument file and limit, and the batch it came from.

    Sample S-041-12, release testing, in Seal: linked to batch B-041 and a potency preparation, a table of results for potency, impurity A and water content with unit, limit, status, method and source, and water content outside its limit with the investigation open.
    1. The batch it came fromB-041, linked to the sample.
    2. Method and source on every rowEach result keeps its method version, instrument file and limit.
    3. The exception, at the resultWater content 0.72% against ≤ 0.50%, with the investigation open.

What Seal’s customers measured.

Each figure links to the customer’s story.

QualityAcclinate and Skye Biologics

−50%
quality cycle times at Acclinate, from a procedure change to everyone trained.Acclinate
−40%
non-conformances at Skye Biologics, with training checked before execution.Skye Biologics

RecordsMiAlgae and Bioventix

−75%
documentation time at MiAlgae, from the lab to commercial production.MiAlgae
−80%
document admin time at Bioventix, after two decades on paper.Bioventix

LabArchives and Seal, side by side.

Every source is listed under References.

LabArchivesSeal
What it isCloud lab notebook¹The GxP execution system: your eBR, your QMS and more
Built forResearch labs²Process development, the lab, manufacturing, batch release and quality
Data modelNotebooks of folders, pages and entries³Primitives your team composes: record types, their relationships, steps and checks
AILuma queries; Proofig AI image checks⁴⁵Neil, Seal’s AI agent, prepares changes to the process; your team approves them
StructureTemplates, forms, widgets, tags¹Required fields, units, calculations
A question across runsSearch over text, tags and links; per-item tracing with Inventory¹A query over recorded fields
Developer APIEnterprise plan only⁶Connectors, REST API and Scripts
Getting startedFree tier, then paid plans⁶A 48-hour evaluation of one process, once the scope is agreed and the inputs received

Summary

The story
LabArchives is good for academic research notebooks.⁷ It was established in 2009 by a team that included the founders of RefWorks, the web-based bibliography software, as “an affordable and easy-to-use solution to the problem of laboratory organization and collaboration”,⁸ and by 2012 offered a free notebook and academic and government pricing.⁹ Its notebooks are still “structured much like a traditional file system”, of folders, pages and entries.³ It calls itself “a flexible platform with endless possibilities for customization”, and its first tip is for each team to agree its own structure, naming, templates and tags.¹⁰ Its developer API is on the Enterprise plan only.⁶ The AI it advertises sits beside the notebook: generative-AI queries in Luma, the Dotmatics instrument-data platform announced in 2023, and image checks by Proofig AI, a partner since May 2026.⁴¹¹⁵ If you need to record research and meet a funder’s data requirements, it can work well. Companies need each run recorded against a versioned method, with fields that compare like with like.

1What LabArchives offers.

LabArchives describes itself as a research data management application, built as the central information hub in research labs, for scientists in academic, non-profit and commercial organisations; it became part of Dotmatics in 2022.² Scientists keep notebooks of folders, pages and entries,³ with rich text, Office documents, custom templates, forms and widgets, linked by tags; search runs across notebooks, and content can be published with a DOI.¹ Inventory and Scheduler are separate products, and ELN for Education is its edition for teaching lab courses.⁷¹²

The AI on its pages sits beside the notebook. Luma, the Dotmatics data platform for instrument data that LabArchives lists among its products, advertises queries created “using natural language and GenerativeAI”;⁴ Dotmatics announced Luma in October 2023 and said then that it would add generative AI query-building later.¹¹ In May 2026 LabArchives and Proofig AI announced a partnership through which researchers screen notebook images for duplication and manipulation in Proofig AI.⁵

2Running Seal alongside LabArchives.

Teams start Seal on one workflow while existing notebooks stay where they are. Seal has no dedicated LabArchives connector. Where a system is not on Seal’s integrations list, Seal’s REST API reads and writes records from another system, and Scripts, versioned Python changed, tested and published like other Seal records, can call an external service after an event or on a schedule. LabArchives offers a developer API on its Enterprise plan.⁶

Start with read access, such as linking a Seal record to the LabArchives entry that holds the development history behind it. Treat any write-back as a separate decision with defined actions, review gates and audit evidence. Agree identifiers and mappings, test missing, delayed and duplicate records, reconcile what arrives against the source, and record which system is the source of truth. Instrument files can come to Seal directly through the installable Seal IoT agent, which watches an export folder and uploads supported files to a configured Seal record.

3Moving from LabArchives to Seal.

Start with one protocol. Nothing else has to move first.

  1. Choose a protocol your team repeats often enough to need fixed inputs, or one approaching controlled use.
  2. Bring the template or page that describes it, a few representative entries and the files behind their results. Start with sample material, or arrange an NDA before sharing confidential records.
  3. Neil configures the protocol from that description: required inputs, units, calculations and sample and material links. Your scientists check it against how the work runs. Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares the first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.
  4. Test a normal run, missing data, a deliberate variation and a changed protocol.
  5. Decide whether earlier pages move at all. If they do, scope exports, attachments, metadata, permissions and history, and keep gaps visible: a PDF of a page is not a recovered native experiment, and values typed into prose need checking before they become fields.

Retention obligations continue for the notebooks that stay in LabArchives. The ELN blueprint shows the protocol and experiment model in detail.

References

  1. 1LabArchives ELN for Research, LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/products/eln-for-research (read 5 November 2026)
  2. 2About, LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/about (read 5 November 2026)
  3. 3Adding Folders and Pages, LabArchives Help Center. https://help.labarchives.com/hc/en-us/articles/11728979873684-Adding-Folders-and-Pages (read 5 November 2026)
  4. 4Luma / Luma Lab Connect, LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/luma-and-luma-lab-connect (read 5 November 2026)
  5. 5Proofig AI and LabArchives Partner to Bring Early Image Integrity Checks Into Everyday Research Workflows, Proofig AI, 6 May 2026. https://www.proofig.com/news/proofig-ai-and-labarchives-partner-to-bring-early-image-integrity-checks-into-everyday-research-workflows/ (read 5 November 2026)
  6. 6Pricing, LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/pricing (read 5 November 2026)
  7. 7The Modern Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/ (read 5 November 2026)
  8. 8Company, LabArchives, LLC, archived 11 December 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111211101055/http://www.labarchives.com/company.php (read 5 November 2026)
  9. 9Electronic Lab Notebook Free: Pricing, LabArchives, LLC, archived 7 January 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120107011908/http://www.labarchives.com/pricing.php (read 5 November 2026)
  10. 10Tips for Getting Started with LabArchives, LabArchives Help Center. https://help.labarchives.com/hc/en-us/articles/15055571465236-Tips-for-Getting-Started-with-LabArchives (read 5 November 2026)
  11. 11New Dotmatics Luma Scientific Data Platform Helps Scientists Analyze Massive Data Volumes to Enable AI and ML in Life Sciences, Dotmatics via PR Newswire, 24 October 2023. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-dotmatics-luma-scientific-data-platform-helps-scientists-analyze-massive-data-volumes-to-enable-ai-and-ml-in-life-sciences-301965369.html (read 5 November 2026)
  12. 12Teach Lab Courses with ELN for Education, LabArchives. https://www.labarchives.com/products/eln-for-education (read 5 November 2026)

AQuestions and answers

Is Seal better than LabArchives?

Yes. LabArchives is good for academic research notebooks. It was established in 2009 by a team that included the founders of RefWorks, the web-based bibliography software, as “an affordable and easy-to-use solution to the problem of laboratory organization and collaboration”, and by 2012 offered a free notebook and academic and government pricing. Its notebooks are still “structured much like a traditional file system”, of folders, pages and entries. It calls itself “a flexible platform with endless possibilities for customization”, and its first tip is for each team to agree its own structure, naming, templates and tags. Its developer API is on the Enterprise plan only. The AI it advertises sits beside the notebook: generative-AI queries in Luma, the Dotmatics instrument-data platform announced in 2023, and image checks by Proofig AI, a partner since May 2026. If you need to record research and meet a funder’s data requirements, it can work well. Companies need each run recorded against a versioned method, with fields that compare like with like. Seal has no fixed model of one kind of work. It is built from primitives: record types, the relationships between them, and the steps and checks that use them, which your own team composes into your process, with Neil able to prepare each change for approval. So one platform runs process development, the laboratory, manufacturing, batch release and the quality system, and each change becomes a new version, released once its selected tests pass, while earlier runs keep theirs. Moving from paper, MiAlgae cut documentation time by 75% and went from the laboratory to commercial production on one platform.

Is Seal an alternative to LabArchives?

Yes. LabArchives is designed for research labs. Seal is an ELN that records each run against a versioned protocol’s fields, linked to the samples and lots behind it, so results can be queried and compared. The same platform runs QC, batch records and quality, so a method can move into controlled use without changing systems. Teams usually start with one protocol they repeat often.

Does LabArchives have QC testing or batch records?

LabArchives is designed for research labs. Its home page describes products for research data management, inventory tracking, resource scheduling and course management, and names no QC testing against specifications, batch records or quality management. In Seal, the notebook runs on the same platform as QC, batch records and the quality system, so a method can move into controlled use without changing systems.

What is the difference between a page-based and a structured ELN?

A page-based notebook stores what the scientist writes on a page, with structure added through templates, forms and tags. A structured system defines the fields, units and calculations each run must record, and links them to records such as samples and reagent lots, so questions across runs are answered by a query over recorded fields rather than by searching text.

Can Seal work alongside LabArchives?

Yes, and that is a low-risk way to start. Seal has no dedicated LabArchives connector, but its REST API and Scripts can connect a system that is not on its integrations list, and LabArchives offers a developer API on its Enterprise plan. Start with read access and agree which system is the source of truth for each record.

How does LabArchives’ AI compare with Neil?

The AI LabArchives advertises sits beside the notebook. Luma, the Dotmatics instrument-data platform it lists among its products, offers queries written in natural language with generative AI, and since May 2026 a partnership with Proofig AI lets researchers screen notebook images for duplication and manipulation. Neil prepares changes to the process itself, configured from your procedures across Seal’s laboratory, manufacturing and quality records, for people to approve. In line with the EU’s draft GMP Annex 22 on AI, Neil is not used in GMP execution. It helps set up configuration, which your team verifies and releases under change control.

How long does it take to start with Seal?

Once the scope is agreed and the inputs received, Seal prepares a first working process and its validation pack to evaluate within 48 hours, configured from one of your protocols or procedures. Production timing then depends on scope, interfaces, migration and your release requirements.

Start beside LabArchives.

Start with one protocol your team repeats often. Seal links to the LabArchives entries behind it through its REST API and Scripts, so existing notebooks do not have to move on day one.

Book a demo