Today, whenever you purchase a new pair of eyeglasses, you will almost always be offered to add an anti-glare or anti-reflective coating on to the lenses. This coating provides many vision and cosmetic benefits.
What is an Anti-Reflective Coating?
An anti-reflective coating is a thin layer of material which is applied over the top of the glasses’ lenses.
The anti-reflective coating is specifically designed to neutralize reflections from the lenses both going into and coming from the glasses.
This coating is clear but may have a slight tint or color when held at an angle and viewed. This comes from the fact that not all colors of light are reflected the same.
What Type of Glasses can Have an Anti-Reflective Coating?
Anti-reflective coatings can be applied to almost any type of glasses. The type of prescription – single vision, bifocal, or no line bifocal – will not be a factor in whether or not an anti-reflective coating can be used.
The only case when anti-reflective coatings cannot be used is with lenses that are also tinted.
Tints are applied to a lens after the anti-reflective coating would have to be applied. If an anti-reflective coating is on the lens, the tint will not work as well to dye the lens.
Thus, any lens that is to be tinted – whether for a sunglass tint, a cosmetic tint, or a tint for visual symptoms – should not have an anti-reflective coating on the lens.
Vision Benefits of Anti-Glare Coatings
When looking through glasses without any anti-reflective coating, there may be glare on screens, around lights (such as car headlights at night), or reflections off of surfaces which can impede vision.
These reflections and glare are worsened with glasses without anti-reflective coatings.
With an anti-reflective coating, there will be limited, if any, glare and reflections in normal viewing conditions.
In extreme bright light, such as a sunny day on a lake, there will still be some reflections from the water, but it will be much less visually bothersome.
Cosmetic Benefits of Anti-Reflective Coatings
Anti-reflective coatings are also used to prevent reflections from the glasses when viewed by another person or in a camera.
Anti-reflective coatings prevent lights in the environment from creating reflections on the lenses which will then obscure the view of the eyes when looking from the outside.
Anyone who is frequently photographed, videoed, or speaks publicly must consider adding an anti-reflective coating to their glasses as a way to minimize these obscurations.
However, everyone can benefit from having an anti-reflective coating on their glasses whether it is for a better-quality family picture or simply to have others be able to clearly see their eyes in all lighting environments.
How Much Does a AR Coating Cost?
The cost of adding an anti-reflective coating to a pair of new glasses will vary based on the quality of the anti-reflective coating purchased and if any vision benefit plan discount is available.
A vision benefit plan, sometimes called vision insurance, will often have a reduced copay for adding an anti-reflective coating to glasses.
To find out exactly how much an anti-reflective coating will cost, discuss all your options and needs with your local optician.
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