Tinted Spectacle Lenses: A specialist skill?

Occasionally as eyecare practitioners we are called upon to advise & dispense spectacles for specific occupations, to enhance visual acuity in specialised light conditions, or to enhance colour perception & resolution due to pathological conditions. In this article we will explore a little more on the actual process of tinting lenses & different aspects of tinting that we need to consider. Tinting spectacle lenses is not an exact science, two lenses simultaneously put in the same dye for the same duration will not emerge with identical colours! Lenses of different ‘ages’, different thicknesses, different indices or from different manufacturers all take up the tint dye at varying rates. ECP’s would also do well to remember that colour is a very subjective process for different eyes and brains – how one person ‘sees’ colour will differ from another.