The Advantages of Anti-Reflex Coating on Spectacles

Today's spectacles are very different from the originals. Refinements such as anti-reflex coating help provide clearer vision and make the spectacles more durable. Anti-reflex coating is a coating of metal oxides applied to both sides of the glasses. Several layers go onto the lens, each layer calculated to reduce glare.

Improved Night Vision

• Another name for anti-reflex coating is anti-glare coating. Think of night driving, and the glare of the oncoming headlights. Oncoming cars and vehicles behind you throw strong beams. AR (anti-reflex) coating removes the glare, reflections and halos, making for a safer, more comfortable drive.

Easing Computer-Use Induced Eyestrain

• If you work for long periods on the computer, you may experience eyestrain because of the glare (reflected light) from the monitor. The glare reduction allows you to work in comfort for longer periods.

Reducing Strain Due to Poor Lighting

• In a poorly-lit room your eye strains to see, resulting in headaches and tired eyes. Anti-reflex coating removes reflections from the ambient light that enters the lenses, thus strengthening the quality of light in a dimly lit room. This reduction also helps in a brightly-lit room.

Improving Visual Acuity

• We see when light rays reach our retina. Spectacles help focus the light, but they also reflect light away from the retina. Uncoated plastic lenses allow about 91% of the light through. The rest is lost to reflection. An anti-reflective coating allows more light to pass through. This is especially relevant if you have high-index lens because they reflect more light than regular plastic lenses. Reduced reflection also brings images into sharper contrast, thus improving their quality.

Lessening Reflection on Sunglass Interior

• When you stand with your back to the sun, sunlight from the inside of the lens reflects onto your eyes. So, while the bright light and glare coming from in front of you is reduced by the darkened lens, it is beneficial to ask for the AR coating to be applied to the inner side of the sunglass lenses to help reduce the glare from behind you.

Making Your Eyes More Visible

• External reflections bounce off uncoated lens and prevent a viewer from looking at your eyes. An anti-reflex coating lets the light through, making your eyes more visible. This also makes for better photographs.