Eyeglass lens coatings | The saviour of your glasses

Let me tell you what happened the other day at our store. An elderly customer came in to get an eye exam done. After everything was done, he selected the frame (a pair of charming round tortoiseshell glasses) but when I asked him about the lens coatings, he didn’t know about the options available to him.

So I told him that his lenses already have 4 protective filters that we give complimentary, apart from extra ones like anti-blue light. This made me realise that so many people don’t know about the different options in lens coatings available to them.

When buying glasses, you must know what you are in for - be it frame styles or lens coatings. While we talk about different frame styles all the time, I am going to dedicate this blog solely to the many coatings that improve the performance of your lenses.

What are Eyeglass Lens Coatings?

These are advanced filters such as UV coating added straight to your lenses at the time of manufacturing. Here are a few things you must know about them:

• These coatings are available for all types of lenses i.e single vision, bifocals and varifocals lenses.
• No matter how good or bad your vision is, these filters will aid your visual performance.
• Scratch-free lenses are more durable than regular ones.
• You can have a UV coating on your prescription glasses as well.
• These coatings aid in the performance, appearance and durability of your lenses.

Certain filters become even more important depending on the type of lens you have. For instance, high index lenses must have an anti-reflective coating as they reflect more light and blur your visual field.

Guide to Eyeglass Lens Coatings

If you are about to buy new specs, you’ll have the following add-ons for your lenses.

1. Anti-reflective - A Must for Every Frame

An anti-reflective coating, also known as anti-glare, is a thin layer that is applied to the lenses to eliminate reflections from the front and back sides.

An AR coating reduces the reflections of light on your lenses and makes them appear clear. So if you are tired of glasses glare in photographs, this coating will put an end to your miseries.

Here are a few things you must know about this filter:

• It is a must for thinner lenses as they tend to reflect more light..
• An AR coating can significantly improve your driving experience at night.
• It eliminates glare and blurriness from your vision field.
• It is recommended for aspheric lenses as the flatter curves cause more reflections.
• It eliminates the intense shine on the lenses and improves their appearance.

If you want to know how long an anti-reflective coating lasts, I would say a good 2 years. But if you are careful with your glasses and clean them properly, our AR coating may last even longer than that.

2. Anti-scratch Coating for Scratch-free Lenses

No matter how careful you try to be with your glasses, you can’t keep them from falling off your face. And when they do, they get little scratches all over their surface which neither look good nor feel good.

To make your glasses scratch proof, the lenses are treated with a hard coating both front and back. Every bespectacled folk need scratch-free lenses but they are even more important when:

• You are careless and keep your glasses anywhere
• You are buying glasses for your kid
• You have polycarbonate or high-index lenses
• You have a habit of cleaning your glasses with a paper towel

However, just because your glasses have scratch-free lenses does not mean they are immune to damages. Store them in their case when not in use and don’t put them on a rough surface with lenses first.

3. Blue Light Coating - For Screen Protection

This filter is highly recommended for anyone who has a screen-heavy schedule. The blue light from your devices might trigger problems such as eye strain and blurry vision.

Having a blue light coating on the lenses will absorb the damaging blue waves and make your eyes feel comfortable during screen time.

Here is what this filter does:

• It absorbs blue waves and prevents damage to your eye health.
• It improves screen contrast so you can see every text or image on the screen clearly.
• When used at night, it may even trigger melatonin release which makes your body feel sleepy.
• It can reduce screen glare and cuts down the possibility of eye strain.

Blue Light Glasses at Specscart are able to cut down most of these notorious blue waves. If you are in doubt, get a free home trial and witness the difference yourself.

4. Anti-UV Glasses - To Block the Sun

If you thought that only sunglasses were competent to block UV rays, you are wrong. You can get the best sun protection even with your prescription glasses.

Adding an Anti-UV coating to your optical lenses will keep the sun’s rays from inflicting damage upon your eyes.

Overexposure to UV rays causes sunburn on the eyes and brings about temporary visual discomforts. Here is how a UV coating helps:

• Effective UV filters can offer 100% sun protection - just like the ones we offer here at Specscart.
• It is available for all types of lenses including varifocals.
• It guards your eyes against UV radiation from fluorescent lamps at your home.

5. Tinted Lenses

Lens tinting can increase the functionality of your glasses and lend them a cool edge. Tinted lenses are just like your normal lenses dipped in vivid colours to offer sun protection. Cosmetic tints are available in different colours and each of them serves a different purpose.

• Green tints reduce glare and filter out blue light to some extent. They improve visual contrast and contribute to the sharpness of vision.
• Brown tints aid your vision in low light levels. Making the surroundings appear brighter, they are perfect for overcast weather.
• Grey tints reduce brightness and thus are perfect for people with light sensitivity. They help your eyes perceive colours and help in outdoor sports.

You can find all of these tints with us. Check out our collection of tinted lenses to get a multi-functional pair for yourself.

These are the most common lens coatings that you will get offered when you purchase glasses. While some retailers charge a heart amount of money for these add-ons, we don’t do that here.

We offer all of these filters for free except for blue light and tinted lenses. But they are affordable compared to prices quoted by high-street optical stores.