ARTISAN OPTICS EYEWEAR LENSES
Whether purchasing a new pair of glasses or replacing lenses in an eyewear frame you already own, it is important to remember there are significant differences between lens materials and lens designs.
Eyewear Lenses To See Your Best
There are also significant differences between the various lens manufacturers’ patented technologies and processing techniques. All lenses are not created equal. This is why different lenses perform differently and affect how well you will see.
Lens technology is a lot like computer technology. It changes dramatically and rapidly. Each new computer version or update provides advancements that result in improved functionality and performance. The same is true with prescription eyeglass lenses.
Prescription eyeglass lenses today are quite different from lenses of just a few years ago. Plus there are literally hundreds of different types and designs of lenses. Unfortunately, most are generically designed and mass produced, resulting in compromised vision and often times difficulty adjusting to a new prescription. That’s why it is important to choose your new lenses wisely. This is even more important for people who wear glasses on a regular basis, have a high prescription, use hand-held digital devices, use a computer more than a couple of hours a day, or enjoy a particular hobby or sport activity.
EYEWEAR LENSES
OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART LAB
Our fully computerized, Carl Zeiss certified lens processing lab insures your lenses are crafted to the doctor’s exact specifications. Featuring Carl Zeiss lenses from Germany, which are precision engineered and ergonomically designed, to provide the best vision possible. Your lenses will reflect our meticulous commitment to craftsmanship. Artisan Optics – expertise and experience you can trust, a difference you can see.
The Basic Lens – Polycarbonate
A light, impact-resistant material that is 25% thinner and 30% lighter than standard plastic (CR39) lenses, and 10 times more impact resistant than standard plastic lenses. Polycarbonate lenses include both 100% UV protection and anti-scratch coating.
Polycarbonate is the required material for all children’s eyeglasses and sports eyewear because of its safety qualities.
The Improved Lens – 1.60 Hi- Index
Our lens of choice for the majority of glasses wearers. Up to 55% flatter, 40% lighter and 36% thinner than standard plastic lenses. The properties of hi-index plastic provide superior vision, much improved over a traditional polycarbonate lens, with less distortion.
The lens material is less brittle and more pliable than polycarbonate, delivering a technologically advanced solution to today’s 3-piece drill mount systems and rimless styles.
1.60 hi-index lenses also include 100% UV protection, blocking UVA and UVB rays, and anti-scratch coating.
The Superior Lens – 1.67 Aspheric
Doctor recommended for those with high prescriptions. They are at least 45% lighter and 42% thinner than standard lenses, and up to 3 times flatter.
The 1.67 thinner, flatter lenses provide better vision, with improved peripheral vision. 1.67 hi-index lenses also include 100% UV protection, blocking UVA and UVB rays, and tough anti-scratch coating.
1.67 lenses improve the cosmetic appearance of your lenses! Designed to reduce the eye-magnifying effect that farsighted wearers know all too well. Delivering outstanding optical performance for all corrective wear applications.
The Technologically Advanced Lens
Our doctors recommend this lens for individuals with extreme prescriptions. 1.74 hi-index lenses are the thinnest, flattest, and most cosmetically appealing lenses developed to date.
1.74 hi-index lenses are nearly 50% thinner than standard plastic lenses, and 13% thinner than 1.67 index lenses, offering the ultimate in technology and cosmetics by reducing the “eye-shrinking” effect that many high prescriptions have. 1.74 hi-index lenses include 100% UV protection, blocking UVA and UVB rays, and tough anti-scratch coating.
Hi-index 1.74 lenses are perfect for anyone looking for extreme thinness and flatness; those desiring the latest technology; mid to high prescriptions who are looking for the ultimate in cosmetics; up-to-date fashion conscious individuals; and contact lens wearers.
The most technologically advanced lens product available today.
Environmentally-Responsible Lenses
At Artisan Optics, we are striving to significantly reduce our environmental footprint by choosing suppliers who have implemented responsible manufacturing processes.
Packaging: Our preferred suppliers have implemented lens packaging using 100% recyclable cardboard made from 100% wooden fibers. Typical packaging used within the industry includes plastic trays. This packaging change from plastic trays to 100% recyclable cardboard will eliminate over 460,000 pounds of plastic packaging waste each year while increasing package recyclability and saving natural resources.
Did you know? Every ton of recycled plastic saves:
- The equivalent of the amount of energy 2 people would use in a year
- The equivalent amount of water used by 1 person over a period of 2 months
- Approximately 2000 pounds of oil
Water consumption: Our preferred suppliers are manufacturing products using 100% recycled water, thus conserving millions of gallons of water annually.
Waste recycling: With the production of all ophthalmic lens materials comes the inevitable waste. However, waste produced from the manufacturing process of our preferred suppliers is given a second life in other industries, such as automobiles and toys.
Lighter and Thinner: Plastic Lenses
Modern technology has created lenses that bend light differently so that stronger corrections are thinner than when made in conventional materials. Such lenses are called “high-index” and stronger corrections are more attractive because they are slimmer. Glass lenses are also available with the slimming advantages of high-index but are considerably heavier than high-index plastic. High-index lenses absorb all harmful UV light and can be tinted to any shade or color.
Aspheric Lenses
These new lenses provide special visual and cosmetic benefits for stronger corrections and increase edge-to-edge clarity. Flatter than conventional lenses, aspherics eliminate the “bulgy” appearance of far-sighted corrections and greatly enhance the appearance of the finished eyewear. Persons with near-sighted corrections can also benefit. Because aspheric lenses are positioned closer to the face, there is less eye magnification with far-sighted corrections and less “small eyes” look with near-sighted corrections.
Polycarbonate Lenses
These lenses are the most impact resistant lenses available and are always the lens of choice for young people, individuals concerned with safety and people who are active in sports. Polycarbonate lenses absorb all harmful UV light and can be made with ultra thin edges because of their unique strength.
Anti-Glare Treatment
See the difference. Not the smudges. We offer premium anti-glare coatings. Our coatings are highly resistant to smudges of all kinds, easier to clean, and significantly more scratch resistant than “old technology” coatings. So, when it comes to durability, our coatings are #1. They are designed to resist scratches, repel dirt and withstand environmental conditions.
You’ll notice another big difference with our coatings — color. Unlike other anti-glare lenses, ours do not diminish color in any way. The glare from headlights, street lights and computers is reduced by up to 90 percent. The color, however, remains vibrant and true.
Zeiss Anti-Glare Treatment:
With almost 70 years of experience perfecting anti-glare treatments, ZEISS delivers a superior product. The ZEISS premium anti-glare treatment provides easy-to-clean, extremely scratch-resistant lenses.
With ZEISS anti-glare treatment you will experience the most precise, crisp and clear natural vision in a brilliance that is not possible with untreated lenses. Individually, the treatment components have set industry standards, and are considered to be the most reliable and durable anti-glare products available on the market today. ZEISS anti-glare treatment makes your lenses six times stronger than uncoated lenses – making them harder to scratch. The ZEISS treatment seals your lenses to help repel dirt and grease, and makes it easier to clean the lenses without smudging. Cleaner lenses mean clearer vision.
Scratch Resistant Coating
No eyeglass lens material — not even glass — is scratch-proof. However, a lens that is treated front and back with a clear, hard coating does become more resistant to scratching, whether it’s from dropping your glasses on the floor or occasionally cleaning them with a paper towel. Kids’ lenses, especially, benefit from a scratch-resistant hard coat.
Since a scratch-resistant coating can’t completely protect your lenses from wear and tear, do keep your glasses in a cushioned case, and clean them with a microfiber cloth and a recommended cleaning solution. Not all cleaning solutions are the same – some can even damage your lenses unless approved for your specific type of lens and lens coatings. Also, be wary of those products that promise to repair your scratched lenses. They may fill in the cracks of the scratches, but it is nearly impossible for them to make the scratches disappear so the lenses look new again.
UV Protection
There are three types of UV radiation. One type, called UV-C, is absorbed by the ozone layer and does not present any threat. That’s not true of the other two types, UV-A and UV-B. More and more scientific evidence is showing that exposure to both UV-A and UV-B can have adverse long- and short-term effects on your eyes and vision.
Overexposure to UV rays has been linked to age-related cataracts, pterygium, photokeratitis and corneal degenerative changes. These conditions can cause blurred vision, irritation, redness, tearing, temporary vision loss and, in some cases, blindness. There also appears to be a link between excessive summer sun exposure and retinal pigmentation.
The effects of sunlight exposure are cumulative; therefore, individuals whose work or recreational activities involve lengthy exposure to sunlight are at the greatest risk. UV radiation reflects off surfaces such as snow, water and white sand, so the risk is particularly high for people on beaches, boats or ski slopes. The risk for serious damage is greatest during the mid-day hours, generally from 10:00am to 3:00pm, and during summer months.
Children and teenagers are particularly susceptible to the sun’s damaging rays because they typically spend more time outdoors than adults, and the lenses of their eyes are more transparent than those of adults. The transparent lenses allow more short wavelength light to reach the retina of the eye.
You should purchase quality sunglasses that block both UV-A and UV-B rays. Doing so will block 99-100% of harmful UV rays. You should select the color of sunglass lens that is most appropriate for your particular outdoor activities. Certain colors will enhance depth perception, others are more appropriate for golfing, others are better for cycling, etc.
Polarized lenses reduce glare and are especially important for sun sensitive individuals, people who fish, and people who enjoy water activities such as boating. Always be sure that your sunglasses provide the proper fit and adequate coverage. Polycarbonate lenses are recommended for all outdoor sports as they provide the most impact resistance.
Tip of the day: Inexpensive, fashion sunglasses do not typically provide adequate protection. Just because a lens is dark or tinted, does not mean there is UV-A and UV-B protection.
Fashion Lens Tints
As opposed to transition lenses, another option in colored lenses is a tint, which remains constant at all times. Tints are available on plastic as well as glass lenses and can be had in almost any color of the rainbow. Lighter, fashion tints are used primarily for cosmetic purposes to enhance a wearer’s looks. Darker tints allow the wearer to use the lenses as sunglasses.
Typically, fashion tints are applied in light pink, brown or gray, while sunglasses are usually gray or brown. A tint can be solid, when the entire lens is the same color, or gradient, which is a gradual fade from dark to light, usually fading from the top down.
Other colors can be applied to lenses for different purposes:
Rose Tint: A rose tint is cosmetically appealing, soothing to the eyes, and seems to provide a degree of relief when the wearer is working in brightly lit offices. A rose tint if often recommended for computer use to help reduce eyestrain.
Yellow Tint: A yellow tint makes objects appear sharper. Yellow tints are sometimes marketed as “blue blockers”. Yellow tints are good for overcast, hazy or foggy conditions and are a favorite among shooters, skiers, pilots and professional drivers.
Brown Tint: Brown and amber tints work well in variable light conditions and provide enhanced contrast and depth peception. Brown lenses are good general purpose lenses.
Green Tint: Green tints offer the highest contrast and greatest visual acuity of any tint.
Grey Tint: Grey tints are often referred to as “true color” tints. Grey tints do not distort color. They are a good choice for general purpose use. Grey is also an excellent choice for computer use, and is recommended for black and white screens.
Blue Tint: Lighter shades of blue are popular fashion tints. Blue is an excellent choice for computer use, and is recommended for amber screens.
Purple or Violet Tint: Purple is a balanced color, providing natural color detection while shading the eye. This is an excellent choice for computer use, and is recommended for use with green screens.