96 Well Plate Template
A labelled 96 well plate layout you can fill in on screen and print: rows A to H, columns 1 to 12, with colours for samples, controls, blanks and standards.
S 0 · C 0 · B 0 · T 0 · 96 empty
How to use this plate map
- Choose a well type (sample, control, blank or standard).
- Click a well, or drag across several, to colour them. Use Erase to remove one.
- Press Print for a clean copy to tape into your lab notebook, or Clear to start again.
Reading a 96 well plate layout
Rows run A to H from top to bottom and columns run 1 to 12 from left to right, with well A1 in the top-left corner when the plate notch (the cut corner) is at the top-left. Writing wells as A1, B7 or H12 lets you match a plate map to a reader's data export.
A simple layout for an assay
- Blanks (buffer only) in a few wells, such as column 1, to subtract background.
- Standards in a dilution series down column 2, in duplicate or triplicate across columns 2 to 4.
- Controls (positive and negative) in their own wells on every plate.
- Samples in the remaining wells, each run in replicates.
Working out the dilutions first helps: try the Molarity Calculator and the mg to ml Converter. For the cells you may be culturing, see the Animal Cell Diagram.
Frequently asked questions
How many wells are in a 96 well plate?
A 96 well plate has 96 wells arranged in 8 rows (A to H) and 12 columns (1 to 12). A well is named by its row letter and column number, so the top-left well is A1 and the bottom-right is H12.
How much liquid does a 96 well plate hold?
A standard flat-bottom well holds about 300–360 µL, and most assays use 50–200 µL per well to leave room for mixing. Deep-well plates hold around 1–2 mL per well.
What size is a 96 well plate?
Standard plates follow the SBS/ANSI footprint of 127.76 × 85.48 mm, with the wells 9 mm apart centre to centre, so multichannel pipettes and plate readers fit every brand.
Why not use the outer wells?
The edge wells lose liquid faster to evaporation, which can skew results (the "edge effect"). Many labs fill the outer wells with water or buffer and put samples in B2 to G11.
