After you have found out your prescription and selected your glasses, there are other options to consider when selecting your lenses. One of the optional extras that you can add to your lenses is an anti-reflective coating or anti-glare coating. This is a coating that is added to your lenses to help reduce the amount of glare on them, improving your vision. Here at rx-able.com, we are able to add this coating to your lenses at an affordable price.
Anti-reflective glasses have grown in popularity in recent years, as we live in a world with more screen time than ever. Even those who do not require a prescription have bought glasses with an anti-reflective coating or blue light glasses to help reduce the strain of screens on the eyes. In this article, we will give you a little more information on anti-reflective coating and its advantages so that you can decide whether you need anti-reflective coating on your glasses.
What is Anti-Reflective Coating?
Anti-reflective coating is a thin layer of coating that is applied to your prescription lenses after they have been made to your exact specifications. After the lenses are cut and shaped to fit your frames, the coating is added, preventing lens glare. The coating stops reflections from reflecting off your lenses, meaning that your vision is clearer. Most optometrists recommend anti-reflective coating as it has many positive benefits for the wearer, which we will discuss in detail later in this article.
How is an Anti-Reflective Coating Applied?
Applying an anti-reflective coating to prescription lenses is a complex process, completed by trained optometry experts using vacuum deposition technology. The coating is applied carefully after your lenses have been cut and shaped to fit your frames.
After the lenses have been created, they are cleaned carefully to make sure there are no small particles on the lenses. They are then inspected carefully for defects to ensure that lenses are clear. This process includes many different washing and rinsing baths and cleaning using ultra-sonic technology to remove any contaminants on the lens's surface. The lenses are then both air-dried and then placed in hot ovens to make sure that not water particles or gases are left on the surface of the lens.
This is to ensure that the lenses have a clean foundation for the anti-reflective coating to be placed on. This is a small but important step as any tiny scratches or deposits on the lenses can lead to defective anti-reflective coatings.
Once the lenses are clean and clear, they are placed on metal racks that hold them securely while exposing the lens's full surface, ready to be coated. The racks are then placed in a coating chamber, sealed before the air is pumped out to make the chamber into a vacuum.
Once the machine is switched on, the lens racks begin rotating inside the vacuum chamber. Within this chamber, there are many compartments that contain many metal oxides. The machine focuses a beam of electrons, vaporizing the coating materials throughout the chamber. These particles then coat the surfaces of the lenses evenly – creating a full thin layer on the lenses. This layer means that the light is not reflected on them, creating a glare in the wearer's vision.
How Many People Have Anti-Reflective Coating?
Anti-reflective technology is an ever-increasing market. The Allied Market Research Global Opportunities and Forecasts predict that the market for anti-reflective technology will reach just under $5 million by 2022, growing at a rate of around 8.2%. Since 2015, eyewear has been the predominant use for anti-reflective technology, and this is set to continue.
What are the Advantages of an Anti-Reflective Coating?
The anti-reflective coating has many advantages that can make your life easier and more convenient. We have listed some of the benefits below for you to see.
Reduced Eye Strain
One of the main benefits of anti-reflective glasses is reduced eye strain. The coating reduces strain on your eyes by allowing more light in, reducing connected issues like fatigue. This, in turn, means that you are more likely to stay focused for longer.
Long Term Eyesight Benefits
Anti-reflective coating can actually benefit your eyesight long term. Usually, over time our vision deteriorates, even if we wear our glasses correctly. However, the anti-reflective coating can help slow down this decline – meaning that your eyesight is more likely to stay the same and not worsen. This is because your eyes are less likely to be damaged by harmful screens which cause eye strain. In the long run, this will also save you time and money as you will not need to purchase new glasses with a different prescription, meaning that you can keep your frames and lenses for longer.
Clearer vision
Anti-reflective glasses help improve your vision by allowing more natural light into the eye while blocking any glare or reflection. This is extremely helpful after dark, for example, when driving at night when there is a lot of glare from street lights, car headlights, and cat's eyes on the road. Anti-reflective coatings will help you see clearer and place less strain on the eyes as they do not have to work harder to see properly.
Better Photographs
Anti-reflective coating means clearer lenses, meaning that people can see your eyes clearly. This is especially important when it comes to taking a photo, as your glasses will not reflect any flashes of light. This will allow the photograph to show your face better than when you are wearing traditional lenses. If you work in an occupation where eye contact is important, anti-reflective lenses can also help so that the people you are talking to can see your eyes better when wearing anti-reflective lenses.
Water Repellent
Anti-reflective coating provides a smoother surface that can be cleaned easily. The coating repels water and makes them easier to clean. This is also a useful feature if you work outside as the lenses will be clearer, even in poor weather.
Helps Tackle Blue Light
Anti-reflective glasses are also effective at reducing the impact of blue light from screens. Blue light can damage eyesight, causing additional health issues such as headaches. In a world where we are increasingly dependent on screens, anti-reflective coating on your lenses will help prevent or minimize the migraines you may experience after prolonged use of screen time.
Looking After Anti-Reflective Lenses
Anti-reflective glasses are an investment, so you must look after them properly to ensure they last. It is important to use recommended products only when cleaning your anti-reflective lenses as harsh cleaners can damage the anti-reflective coating.
The lenses should also be cleaned when wet, as a dry cloth on dry lenses can lead to small scratches on the lenses, damaging the anti-reflective coating. Small scratches may not seem that important, however as anti-reflective coatings stop the light from reflecting, these scratches may be more visible than normal lenses as the light reflections often hide scratches on uncoated lenses.
At rx-able.com, all lenses come with a specially designed cleaning cloth that is perfect for your anti-reflective lenses. We recommend that you use this cloth when cleaning your lenses.
Is Anti-Reflective Coating Worth It?
As you can see from above, anti-reflective lenses have many advantages for your vision and your health. If you are still considering whether you need an anti-reflective coating on your lenses, there are some questions that you can ask yourself to help you make the right choice. Take a look at our list below.
- What is your budget – anti-reflective coatings come with an additional cost on top of the normal lens price. Therefore, it is important to look at your budget to see if you can add these to your costs. At rx-able.com, our anti-reflective coating is affordable and of the highest quality.
- How often do you wear your glasses – If you wear your glasses all day, every day, then the anti-reflective coating is worth the additional investment than if you only have your frames as a backup in case you do not feel like wearing contact lenses. If you hardly wear your glasses, it may not be worth adding extras to your lenses.
- Under what conditions do you wear your glasses – If you often wear your glasses for driving at night or looking at a computer screen as part of your job, then an anti-reflective coating may be worth the investment as you are more likely to see the benefits from it. If you only use your glasses for activities such as reading, where there are no issues with reflection, the lens coating will not be worth the extra money.
- Do you have any issues with headaches, even when wearing your glasses with normal lenses in them – Many glasses-wearers often still get headaches even if they are wearing lenses that are the correct prescription. This is because they are still experiencing eye strain due to reflections and glare on the lenses.
- What type of lenses do you require – Some types of lenses, such as polycarbonate lenses or aspheric lenses, cause the light to reflect even more than normal lenses, so getting an anti-reflective coating on these types of lenses would be a great choice. However, you will notice a difference with anti-reflective coating on any lenses.
Conclusion
The benefits of anti-reflective coating really do speak for themselves – reducing eye strain, headaches and making your vision clearer. While the anti-reflective coating is a great technology, it can be extremely affordable. At rx-able.com, for example, if you choose to have this coating added to single vision lenses, it will cost you as little as $25, or $35 for their premium option, which is even easier to clean.
If you struggle with reflections or glare when wearing your glasses or feel like your eyes are being strained to look at bright screens often, then anti-reflective coating on your lenses may be the answer. At such affordable prices, they are definitely worth trying.
At rx-able.com, we have a large range of lenses available that can be added to your current frames or select a new pair of frames from our website. These lenses can then be selected with an anti-reflective coating. Either way, we believe that eyesight should not cost the Earth and aim to make our lenses as affordable and accessible as possible.