Lens tints Other tints including mirror coatings are available, but please note that these are NOT standard and charged accordingly Please specify depth of colour How dark do you require your tint? Remember 80% LTF is light and 15% LTF is dark. LTF means Light Transmission Factor. The end wearer of a tint should note which category their tinted lenses come under and be aware of the restrictions of use that may apply. Drivers beware of wearing tints after lighting up time (night) and ensure that it passes the traffic light recognition test. Click here for more information on tints (link) to TOP Anti reflective coating for tinted lenses If you require an anti-reflective coating on your sunglasses select this option. With sunglass lenses, a good quality hard, multi-layer, anti-reflective coating (HMAR) is best applied to the back surface of the lens only (the surface nearest the eye). Because sunglass lenses are so dark, the coating can wind up looking smeary on the front surface. Coating the back of the lens helps reduce the reflections of light that enter from behind you and bounce off the lens surface into your eyes. Back coated sun lenses provide greater visual comfort than standard, uncoated, sunglass lenses. We can still coat both lens surfaces if you require, please state your requirements. Please note: Due to the manufacturing processes involved it is more expensive to put an anti-reflective coating on tinted lenses. Anti reflective coating for non tinted lenses Do you want a standard lens or a clearer lens? There are a number of basic reflections that present reflected images to the wearer that can be disturbing. - Under certain circumstances a light or object from behind can be seen by the spectacle wearer.
- Spectrum separation / streak reflections on bifocal lenses.
- Reflections of the wearers own eye and peripheral power rings in high myopes (minus lenses) (ghosting) .
- Glare from headlights of on-coming traffic etc. at night. Halo effect around light sources.
- Reflections on the front of a lens (especially flatter forms) that obscure the wearers' eyes.
Anti-reflective coatings reduce or eliminate all of the above conditions. Today's coatings are a far cry from the early, single layer AR's with their quite obvious, purple/blue 'bloom'. They were difficult to clean, scratched easily and even flaked off at times! Modern top quality coatings are easy to clean, anti-scratch, anti-glare and anti-smudge with pale emerald/gold or blue/green blooms. Top quality coatings even contain layers of Teflon® or Scotchguard® Protector which repels dirt, dust, fingerprints, oil, grease and water, making cleaning the lenses even easier than ever. Anti-reflective coatings improve both the vision through the lenses and the appearance of the glasses, when an anti-reflective coating (also called AR or Multi AR, MAR coating) is applied. Whether you are working in front of a computer screen or driving at night, the reflections on the screen can reduce contrast and the lights of the oncoming traffic can dazzle you. A good quality coating, such as Essilors Crizal® AlizeT with Scotchguard® can eliminate visual discomfort by reducing reflections by 80% compared with standard, uncoated lenses. Anti reflective coatings are also found on binocular, microscopes and camera lenses. They consist of several layers of metal oxides applied to the front and back lens surfaces. Because of the layering effect, AR coatings sometimes have a hint of green, blue or purple color, depending on the individual manufacturer's formula. Each layer is scientifically calculated to block reflected light. The result is that you'll see a reduction in glare, annoying reflections and halos around lights, a reduction in both internal and external reflections on the lenses themselves, creating a pleasant cosmetic appearance. On high minus lenses reflections appear as rings that make lenses look thick. External reflections veil your eyes from a clear, complete view when someone is looking at you. It's also fair to say that many of the organic, high index lenses on the market today simply wouldn't be available without coating technology. This is because thinner, high index lenses actually reflect more light. So much so, that coating's come as standard on many high index lenses and they can not be purchased without it. Some care needs to be taken when cleaning coated lenses. Please follow the manufacturers or your optician recommendations. 
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| Lenses without anti-reflective coating. | Lenses with anti-reflective coating. | Photos courtesy of Essilor |
UV protection for non tinted lenses UV protection can be added to any prescription spectacles you don't even need the tint to be fully protected. We offer a protective UV400 coating that is virtually clear, which blocks between 99% and 100% of UV rays. UV light is made of invisible, short wavelength rays from the sun. UV is measured in nanometers (NM) and there are three bands of UV: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVC (below 280 nm) is normally absorbed by the upper earth atmosphere before reaching the earth and sunglasses do not need to protect against UVC. UVB (280-315nm) rays are the most hazardous to eyes and skin. They are responsible for sunburn and snow blindness and can cause eyelid and other skin cancers. UVB is stronger in the summer and also at higher altitudes. UVA Possibly the most dangerous area, between 315-380nm, causes chronic eye damage, especially low dose exposure over a long period of time. Rays tend to get absorbed by the lenses in your eye and can cause retinal damage and contribute to cataracts. UVA rays are best known, however, for their role in ageing the skin through early wrinkling. UVA rays pass easily through clouds, glass, water, and even clothing. You will need protection both against direct exposure to UV rays and to reflected rays from snow, sand or water. Ozone depletion in the atmosphere during recent years has increased the likelihood of skin and eye damage by UV rays. UV protection is advised even on overcast and hazy days. Scratch resistant hard coat for tinted lenses We provide FREE UV protection instead of the free hard coated lenses on all of our sunglasses. We believe that it is unethical to sell tints without full UV protection and that your eyes are more important than scratches on your lenses. Our standard stock hard coated lenses can not be tinted, therefore we use our uncoated stock and tint and UV protect your lenses prior to adding the scratch-resistant treatment. This additional treatment is charged extra. ENTERING YOUR PRESCRIPTIONThe number one of the biggest mistakes we come across when entering prescriptions online is selecting a "+" value instead of a "-"value or vice versa.
The second most common mistake is ordering up distance glasses when reading was required and vise versa.
Your prescription may consist of both positive (+) and negative (-) values.
Lens powers are expressed in diopters (D) of power and increase by 0.25 or 1/4 steps. Powers are always be written in decimal notation. To prevent confusion it is important to write two figures after the decimal point, even if they are both noughts and if necessary, a nought in front of it. Otherwise it is very easy for mistakes to occur.
Example
+1.00 might be mistaken for +10 if the decimal point were not clear
Minus prescription and lenses
-0.25, -0.50, -0.75, -1.00, -1.25, -1.50, -1.75, -2.00 and so on..
Plus or Positive prescriptions and lenses
+0.25, +0.50, +0.75, +1.00, +1.25, +1.50, +1.75, +2.00 and so on..
SPH (Sphere)
This will have either a positive (+) or minus (-)sign with power in 0.25 steps as above. The value may also have 'D' or 'DS' written after it, this just means that spherical lens only is required and no Cyl value will be entered.
CYL (cylindrical)
May consist of a positive (+) or minus (-) sign with power in 0.25 steps as above. If values are written in this box there should be values in the axis box also.
Axis
Will consist of a numerical value from 0 to 180 very rarely 360 degree notation. Optical cylinder axis is one and the same with the values on a protractor. If you place a protractor one a table in front of you, the horizontal value zero (0) or 360 will be on your right, moving right to left, vertically is 90 degrees and the horizontal value on your left is 180 degrees. Figures will only be in this box when you have a CYL value.
Note regarding + or - signs: Opticians may write the signs either above the value or next to the value. Some prescription forms may have a little box next to each value especially for the appropriate sign.
ADD or Addition
This will ONLY consist of a positive (+) value. Because this is an addition it may have no sign as it is always assumed to be positive. Even though there will be additions for both the right and left eye, the Optician may only write the 'ADD' in one box. This means that the value is the same for both right and left lenses.
The value is added to your distance prescription if you need reading glasses and is used for the segment or near power in bifocals or varifocals.
Some opticians may write out your complete near prescription underneath your distance prescription. If you are only ordering new distance glasses simply use the distance prescription only. If you need to order a pair of distance and readers or a pair of bifocals, please call us so that we can calculate the "add" for you. The on-line prescription order form is not set up to accept prescriptions written this way.
Plano, 0.00, 8 , ~ , Infinity - All mean the same thing nothing! No correction is needed.
PD or "Pupillary Distance"
As we stated earlier, this is a very important piece of information and because your optician is not legally obliged to provide it is unlikely to be on your prescription. Your Pupil Distance measurement or P.D for short can be obtained in a number of ways. If it is not on your prescription you can first start by asking your optician for it. If that fails you have a couple of options available to you, they are:
A). Send us your current spectacles and we can take the measurement from them. We can tell a lot about you from your existing spectacles. B ecause we will be taking measurements from them, p lease ensure that you only send us spectacles that you h ave got on well with in the past as we don't want any errors or problems duplicated. I f your existing frames are in good condition we are always happy to re-glaze it for you.
B ). Take your own P.D Measurements The following information gives you detailed instructions on how to take the measurement yourself. If you don't give us a P.D measurement we may use the default measurement of 63 mm for lower prescriptions. However it is in your best interest to get your spectacles made accurately. For higher powered prescriptions the P.D measurement is a must and would be better measured by an optician. We will reject orders with higher prescriptions if we are not provided with an accurate P.D measurement. This is in your best interest.Here is what we recommendFor your new spectacles to be made accurately, we will need the distance in millimetres between the centre of your two eyes. For those who have a combined prescription of more than + or – 2.00 we insist on having your P.D measurement as it is in your best interest. We want you to be happy with the spectacles you purchase from us and an incorrect P.D measurement, especially in higher prescriptions, could make them uncomfortable to wear. All is not lost however. It is easy to obtain this, just ask a friend to hold a millimetre rule just above the centre of your eyes and measure the distance between your pupil centres. This can sometimes be tricky with large pupils or dark coloured eyes, an easier method it to measure the outside edge of one pupil to the inside edge of the other pupil, as shown in the picture below. Working in good light will also make measuring easier as the pupils will be less dilated. Both of you should be at the same height approximately, sat opposite each other. The measurer holds the ruler in their left hand across the bridge of your nose and closes their LEFT eye to avoid any parallax error. With their RIGHT eye open, they then first line up the ruler with outside edge of your left pupil. Then without moving the ruler they close their RIGHT eye and with their LEFT eye read off the measurement to the inside edge of RIGHT pupil. (See diagram) 
You should fix on an object. E.g. the open eye of the measurer. This should ideally be about 40 centimetres, 16 inch (400mm) away. This measurement will ensure the accuracy of your spectacle lenses when supplied. A typical measurement will usually be somewhere between 55mm and 72mm Print off this guide and keep it to hand, just in case you need to refer back to it. Take the measurement two or three times to get an average and to ensure accuracy. Click here for further details on measuring your P.D
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