Would you ever trust a private label AR coating from a reputable lab or edging facility? If not what would be your concerns with the AR coating, i.e., what's the worse that could happen with a poor AR coating? Lastly, which AR coatings do you perceive as high quality, but affordable? Thanks.
You can get decent private AR companies but they will never be great. As far as AR coatings go, Hoya are the only company I have 100% confidence in. Zeiss are improving, thankfully.
The worst you could get with a poor AR is unhappy customers... most independent label ARs will almost certainly be dying after around 18 months, although that is not necessarily any worse than the ARs that the majority of the chains put out. Probably better.
Why not ask the lab who makes their coating? You may be surprised by the answer.Originally Posted by rdesouza
To answer your last question, the cheapest AR from Hoya, which over here is called Hi Vision Aqua, is still better than 90% of other coatings. It doesn't do anything special, but it will never break down and is always well matched to the substrate.
Thanks for the responses.
I have used a few "in House" brands that were as good as the named coating. Many of these facilities will still use the same coater, materials, and similar process to what the named one uses. Perhaps it doesn't allow that extra .01% of light through, or have some of the same anti-static properties. However some really provider a great bang for the buck by offering a solid coating that is hydrophobic/oleophobic, uses substrate matching, provides superior scratch resistance compared to standard SRC, and all for half the price of the latest and greatest.
"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate. But I believe that happiness is something we create."-Something More by Sugarland
I get one that I think is better than the name brands.
My local lab has their own coating that is not only equal to the "name" brands but also quicker to get with a better warranty. Acclaro Elite by Toledo Optical. They also have their own free-form progressive that my customers like better than Definity.
Last edited by rdcoach5; 06-20-2012 at 09:30 AM. Reason: spelling
We use an "in house" brand from an optical lab a lot. We haven't had much trouble with them, they are warranted, and the lenses get here quicker than waiting on Crizal. (although I like Crizal)
I have collected a large amount of actual Colts Real Life Simulation Data. Some of the "house" AR's can exceed many of today's popular D class AR's for durability. Leybolds new Super Premium AR for example beats Crizal Avance and ALL Zeiss products (by far on the Zeiss) , its still behind Seiko (#2) and Hoya's (#1) though.
The problem with house AR's, even with Leybold's, is that there is no way to verify that you are receiving their best coating, I think Leybold offers 6 coatings right now. The operator probably doesn't even know which process they are using. It may have been the bes a few years ago, and they just stuck with it.
Some cheap house coating though beat Crizal Easy and Alize, Carat and Carat Advantage by very wide margins at half the price. Its surprising (or not) but neither Essilor or Zeiss offer any super durable AR's right now. So if your using those a house brand will save you a ton of money.
No one can come close to Seiko or Hoya though, they have first rights to Matsui Resin's best hard coats and your AR is only as good as your HC.
Welcome to Optiboard Browneyes1208!
If you are thinking of using a "house" AR give your lab lots of questions. The two top processes right now are made by Leybold and Quantum Optics. Its important what kind of machine they use and who they buy their "process" from (think pellets or pills that go in the machine).
First step, find out what AR machine they use, and who's process.
2nd step, contact that process maker for a list of their best processes and Colt's RLS data (I don't advocate the Baer test because hardness is misleading)
3rd step, go back to your lab and ask which specific process they use from their manufacturerer.
They might not like you, but your patients will. If they won't tell you, or don't know, they are using something cheap.
Thank you!
One big problem with Colt's test data is that Colts won't tell you what the scores are. They only tell the lab that sent the sample the score. It's classified.
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