The most important part of the eyewear buying process is choosing the right lens for your glasses. Most people spend a lot of time choosing the frames for their glasses because of the choices available. However, very few realize that they also have a wide range of lenses available to them that offer protection for their eyes and give them the clearest and sharpest vision.
The quality of your lenses, their attributes and their coatings all contribute to how happy you are with your eyeglasses. There are so many options available on the market today, so it can be difficult to decide which type of eyeglass lens is best for you and your unique lifestyle.
This guide to eyeglass lenses will help you better understand what options are available to you and help you choose lenses and coatings to fit your preference and lifestyle.
Single-Vision Distance
If you are suffering from nearsightedness, you may be looking for single-vision distance lenses to correct your vision. If you have distance-corrective glasses, your prescription will begin with a (-), and your lens will be concave, or curve inward, to correct your vision properly.
Single-Vision Reading
Reading lenses are designed to help you see things at a close distance, typically between 30 and 40 cm(11.8 to 15.8 inches). These lenses are convex, or curve outward, and are appropriate for people with prescriptions beginning with a (+).
While single-vision lenses are suitable for a large portion of eyeglass wearers, your eyes may be unique. If you have difficulty seeing at both close and long ranges, you may need bifocals or multifocal. These glasses correct your vision at multiple distances, allowing you to see clearly — both up close and from a distance.
Bifocal Lenses
Bifocal lenses are the most common type of multifocal lens. These lenses correct both near- and long-distance vision by combining two prescriptions into a single lens. The upper part of the lens is designed to correct distance deficiencies, while the bottom portion is a near-distance lens meant to correct up-close vision.
These are excellent choices for people who use both distance and reading glasses, so they do not need to carry around two pairs of glasses wherever they go.
Progressive Lenses
Progressive Lenses are unique lenses, designed to seamlessly incorporate distance, middle- and near- vision correction. Because these lenses are highly personalized, they can correct even the most unique eyes, and provide all the benefits of bifocal lenses without the obvious horizontal line.
If you have particularly unique eyes, or need bifocals but do not want the obvious line in your lens, consider progressive lenses.
Lens Coating
Coating can give your lenses different attributes, making them behave differently according to their environment. Some change colors based upon the lighting, while others offer protection from scratches or the sun. To better understand the options available to you; we’ve listed some of the coatings available in our catalog and what they can do for you.
Anti-Scratch Coating
No pair of glasses is indestructible, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be protected. Anti-scratch coating defends your lenses against scratches and abrasions from everyday wear and tear, and helps reinforce them against drops.
Anti-Reflective Coating
Anti-reflective, or AR, coating is another beneficial coating for any pair of eyeglasses. This coating gets rid of annoying glare, halos around lights and reflections on your lenses caused by computers and lights. They also make your lenses nearly invisible by removing reflections, making your lenses less of an obstruction during face-to-face conversations or photography sessions.
Anti-reflective coating is especially important for people with high-index lenses, as these lenses have higher refractive indexes. This increased refractive index means these lenses will tend to reflect up to 50 percent more light than traditional lenses, causing more glare unless they are equipped with AR coating.
Anti-reflective lenses are important for nearly everyone in the modern world — especially those working around computers or cameras or regularly driving at night.
Light-Adjusting Coating
This coating will change the tint of your lenses depending on the amount of light they are exposed to, becoming dark outdoors and clearer indoors. This helps protect the wearer’s eyes from harmful UV rays and direct sunlight, protecting the wearer’s vision.
Anyone working in positions where they switch from indoor to outdoor environments frequently will benefit from light-adjusting coating, as well as people who are concerned about their overall eye protection from the sun. Light- adjusting glasses offer the same amount of protection as sunglasses, without requiring you to purchase and carry around an extra set of eyewear.
Color Tint Coating
Looking for extra clarity with a pair of yellow-tinted lenses and want to see the world through rose-colored glasses? Many people choose to add a hint of color to their lenses to help them see better, or to add a certain look to their eyewear. There are plenty of customization options available with color tint coating. Although it is to be noted color tints cannot be added to polarized or photochromic lenses.
These lenses are ideal for people looking to add some more color to their world, as well as their overall look.
Gradient Tint Coating
Gradient-tint lens coatings are excellent choices for sun wear. These lenses have a dark tint at the top of the lens and then progressively lighten toward the bottom. The resulting lens gives the wearer plenty of sun protection, as well as privacy, but offers you varying degrees of light. Gradient tints are only applicable to lenses for frames above 36mm in height.
If you are looking for sun protection, but are uncomfortable with uniformly dark sunglasses, consider gradient tint coatings instead.
Polarized Coating
This coating reduces the annoying, and sometimes dangerous, reflections on your lenses created by water, roads and other surfaces. These reflections can be distracting or obtrusive, posing a danger to you and your well-being if you are traveling.
If you drive or bike frequently, and travel along bodies of water or slick roads, you could greatly benefit from polarized coating.
Mirrored Tint Coating
If you want to add a little bit of mystique to your look, or simply wish to hide your eyes from onlookers, you may want to look into a mirrored coating on your lenses. Mirrored lenses are functional and fashionable sunglasses with a little extra flash. This reflective coating comes in gold, silver, and blue.
Take a look at mirrored tints if you’re in search of a more mysterious style. Athletes should also consider these coatings, since mirrored tints are highly sought-after for athletic sunglasses.
Water-repellent Coating
All eyeglass wearers dread getting rain or water on their eyeglasses. Droplets can leave behind smudges or dirt on your lenses and cleaning them properly can be a hassle — especially in rainy weather. However, there is a solution!
Water-repellent coatings keep water droplets, dirt, and smudges off your lenses, which helps to maintain their cleanliness and reduces the need for you to clean them regularly. Lenses with this premium coating stay crystal-clear up to twice as long as your normal eyeglasses.
UV Protective Coating
Exposure to the sun’s harmful UV radiation is associated with numerous age-related eye problems, such as cataracts and macular degeneration. Because of this, doctors encourage people to protect their eyes from UV radiation. This is why UV protective coating is so important for everyone. By deflecting harmful UV rays from the sun before they can damage your eyes, this invisible UV protective coating works like sunscreen for your eyes.