AR coating is also listed with a 2 year warantee. So what should we know about the modern premium high-index lens? Bear in mind that some of the links on this website are affiliate links. Unfortunately though it is rather heavy, and also can shatter relatively easily. I just got new glasses and frames (titanium). Trivex has a lower specific gravity than polycarbonate, making Trivex lenses about 10 percent lighter than polycarbonate lenses. As index increases, so do surface reflections. Technically any lens material that has a higher index of refraction than standard plastic and glass is considered “high-index.”, RELATED: Best Anti-Fog For Your Prescription Lenses. Glad you found the information helpful to you. Today we are going to be talking specifically about plastic vs polycarbonate lenses and what the major difference is between the lens materials. Acquired by Mitsui in 2008, SDC continues to provide premium high quality thermal and UV-cure hard coatings to improve the scratch and abrasion resistance of lenses under the CrystalCoat brand. Share. Finished lenses and semi-finished lens blanks are made from the MR Series of lens materials manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals in Japan. MR materials had improved tensile strength for drilled rimless. Improved impact strength would also allow production of high-index lenses with 1.0 mm or near 1.0 mm centers assuming that the material has good tensile strength and stability at that thinness. What should be your considerations? This course is supported by an educational grant from MITSUI CHEMICALS INC. Thanks for stopping by. Thickness: Polycarbonate has a higher index of refraction than Trivex (1.58 vs. 1.53), so polycarbonate lenses are about 10 percent thinner than Trivex lenses, but as you see in the video, the difference may not even be noticeable. What are the other things we need to know about the MR Series of high-index lenses? Ophthalmic lenses are sold under lens manufacturer brands. That’s certainly the case when using stock finished lenses. If I did wear glasses I think it would be an automatic upgrade for me. Polycarbonate lenses are made of a type of plastic that is more impact-resistant than standard plastic lenses. These glasses are light as a feather and comfortable. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thiourethane realizes lens properties not available from other materials. Understand why your lens suppliers choose the high-index materials they do. They are considered a high index plastic. Remember, improving the durability of the hard coat has three main effects. Once the UV radiation is removed the lenses will gradually return to their clear state. If it is, why do they still sell poly? If you got polycarbonate and you had a higher index material previously this could be the reason why everything doesn’t seem as crystal clear. Trivex lenses are composed of a urethane-based monomer that has lower specific gravity than polycarbonate and is 10% lighter as a result. If you're going to be racing, hiking, or running, you don't want to feel the sunglasses on your face. Full Name * Job title Company Email * Phone number * Postcode * We collect, store and use your data solely to process your request. That’s why it’s been eagerly adopted by eyeglass makers around the world. The evolution of non-glass spectacle lenses has its roots in the 1940s with the invention of CR-39 monomer as a liner for B-17 bomber fuel tanks. I generally recommended people with prescriptions anywhere between +/-0.50 to +/-4.00 to go with polycarbonate lenses. Gr. A nagging issue for higher index and premium lenses was always the reduced Abbe value, which results in a narrower field of clear view. Thanks so very much! Learn to make the right choice! Technical Assistance. Promote lenses and talk about the material from which they are made, that’s differentiable. They cost a little more but our patients prefer the latest in technologies at a reasonable cost.”. And that means an increase of practice profitability. The prescription population is diverse and about a third have prescriptions greater than 2D where it will make a difference. Like polycarbonate lenses, lenses made of Trivex NXT lenses are thin, lightweight and much more impact-resistant than regular plastic or glass lenses. Birefringence appears as a rainbow pattern on the lens surface. Polarized lenses block out glare from the sun, enabling people to see more clearly. I was told that going with polycarbonate and not HI-index lenses can damage your eyesight eventually. In Table 2, high-index lenses deliver to the wearer about 22 to 34 percent thinner and about 25 percent lighter lenses. I’d go for Polycarbonate Lenses due to its ability to protect the eyes from 100% of the harmful UV rays from the sun because I walk alot. Facebook Twitter Google+ Email. As the industry standard, polycarbonate lenses are affordable and inherently UV-protected. Thank you so much for stopping by! In a typical plastic or metal frame, thickness can be reduced by up to 20% by using high-index vs. polycarbonate lenses. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The first layer is a primer that is very sticky to the high-index surface and very sticky to the next hard coating layer. Polycarbonate does not provide you with the best clarity when compared to other materials but wouldn’t damage your eyes for any reason. We use our best judgment and knowledge about lenses; we consult our lab and use thinness calculators to determine which material is the best solution for a patient. Use tools like cross-sections of various powered lenses to demonstrate the advantage and the reason that they cost more. Plastic lens sales took off; glass crashed. This allows the lens to pass the blue turquoise light that affect sleep patterns while it also allows the use of traditional premium AR. Improved prescription clarity over the entire lens, using free-form techniques, makes for better eyewear. Let’s look at a plus lens example (Table 3). Polycarbonate Lenses In 1953, two scientists working independently on opposite sides of the world developed polycarbonate within 1 week of each other. One of the first successful 1.6 high-index lenses introduced was made from MR-6 material (1987). If ever I do end up needing glasses I will have a little more knowledge on the lenses. The high impact and reduced notch sensitivity or tensile strength makes them also perfect for rimless. I am happy you found my information helpful! I need lightweight as I seem to never stop noticing the weight of glasses on my face and ears. Other Concerns. I generally recommended anyone with a prescription higher than +/-4.00 to go with a high-index lens to make their lenses are as thin as possible. Thanks for the info. Initial use of this very high-index material proved that the eyeglass wearing public and the ECPs who sold them appreciated the improved thinner, lighter lens opportunity. We’re here to help. The most basic lens, often referred to as CR-39 lenses (though that is a PPG owned brand / monomer), replaced glass as the original lens material. Rimless was to become very popular through the election in 2008 when consumers and news media commented on vice president candidate Sarah Palin’s Kazuo Kawasaki eyewear. 1.67 Hi-Index provides you with slightly better clarity. Learn how a combination of material characteristics creates a more merchandisable finished lens on which you can rely. Plus lens thinness at the center is a function of index, lens size (and shape) and the thinness wanted at the thinnest edge. Technically you do not HAVE to get polycarbonate or high-index lenses after all these materials haven’t always existed. How have high-index lenses evolved, and what makes them a lens material choice that supports the best of premium eyewear? While the highest index makes for lenses that are almost half the edge thickness of standard plastic, all indices reduce weight by about 30 percent. In addition, they were half the weight of glass lenses. Take a look at the contemporary material choices you make every day, listed in Table 1. SunSensors MR Series: Mitsui Chemicals acquired SunSensors, photochromic lens materials with refractive index of 1.55, an acrylic-based material from Corning Incorporated, USA in May 2014. These lenses are manufactured from polycarbonate for its exceptional impact resistance. If any of this still sounds confusing to you, and you have any questions feel free to drop a comment below, or you can use the contact form to send us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can. My previous glasses were progressive plastic. All rights reserved. Use your personal experience or those of recent patients by saying, “Your prescription is ideal for premium thinner and lighter lenses; I wear them myself (or a number of our patients this week loved them).” Say, “This beautiful frame is complemented by the right lenses. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Tables 2 and 3 are comparisons of thinness and weight that use the data from Table 1, but consider the resulting lens as a function of all the factors of base curve, center thinness, specific gravity and index. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. The idea of making CR-39 lenses from this PPG material became a manufacturing possibility in the late 1940s. Polycarbonate lenses. At the end of the day, the lens you might end up going with might be dictated ultimately by what your budget is. For anyone that has a prescription that is stronger than +/- 7.00 I definitely recommended going with the 1.74 high-index lens material which has the highest index of refraction to provide you with the thinnest possible lens. MR™ lens materials are made from thiourethane resin, a material not yet widely used for lenses. Polycarbonate lenses are thin, lightweight, and incredibly impact resistant. The few exceptions to this are children, who need to use polycarbonate for the added impact-resistance since they are active and need the added safety. Tinting therefore required lower bath temperatures reducing lab and especially the optical office’s efficiency. I have serious eye problems since baby (34 years ago haha) and I used bad contact lenses during kindergarten, heavy glass glasses that hurt my nose badly. Did you know that almost 6 of every 10 pairs of glasses sold in the U.S. today have lenses that boast the wearer benefits of thinner, lighter, more impact resistant lenses and are 100 percent UV absorptive? … How to clean polycarbonate and high-index lenses? As a result, Abbe can be made a small issue affecting lens clarity off center. The VisionWatch survey results confirm that patient satisfaction is improved since consumers request these benefits. Polycarbonate lenses are ultra-durable, ultra-lightweight lenses. Become an expert at understanding and using them. I’ve often seen a question about this on the optometry and optician online forums with some participants speculating a problem with the Abbe of the material. Below you will find a breakdown of each material so next time you … This material also had the added benefit that 100 percent UV absorption was built in. Trivex NXT lenses, however, are composed of a urethane-based monomer and are made from a proprietary process which means …