Methods : The various high pressure techniques vary primarily in design of the pressure transmitting device, which in turn leads to variations in the accessible pressure and temperature range, as well as the sample volume.

Quenching : A compound that is stable at high pressure may transform back to its ambient pressure phase upon release of the pressure. In order to prevent this it is important to lower the temperature back to room temperature before releasing the pressure back to ambient pressure. This so called "quenching" of the high pressure phase is most likely to be successful in cases where considerable structural rearrangement (breaking and making bonds) is involved in the transformation between the low pressure and high pressure phase.