Optilabs FAQs
Q: What does my prescription mean?
A: Your written prescription from your optician is a record of the visual correction that your eyesight requires. This will be noted with a series of numbers preceded by a plus (+) or minus (-) sign.
Minus (-) means you are short sighted (Myopic) i.e. you can see close up but objects viewed in the distance appear blurred. And plus (+) means you are long sighted (Hyperopic) i.e. objects viewed close up may be out of focus.
Astigmatism: This is where the curvature of the front surface of the eye is not perfectly round. Your vision will be blurred at most distances if the astigmatism is significant.
A correction for astigmatism will be recorded in the 'Cylinder' and 'Axis' part of the prescription. Axis is simply an angle, at which the Cylindrical power of your lens sits. This angle is measured in degrees (1 degree to 180 degrees)
Presbyopia: This is where the lens inside your eyes loses its flexibility so that focusing on objects close up becomes difficult. As part of natural ageing process of the eye, this usually affects people in their mid 40s. A correction for presbyopia will be recorded in the 'Near' and 'Intermediate' part of the prescription.
It is common to have no values for any one of these, in which case you might see the letters “PL” or “plano” which means zero.
Q: What is my ‘pupil distance measurement’ (PD)?
A: Sometimes abbreviated to ‘PD’, it is the horizontal measurement between your pupil centres. We need this measurement so that the optical centre of the lens coincides with your pupils, ensuring maximum clarity of vision. Most opticians do not write this information on your prescription as they are not obliged to. However, they do keep your PD on file so all you have to do is call and ask!
Q: Where can I get my prescription from?
A: In the UK, you can get it from your registered optician at any time. In accordance with the 1989 Opticians Act, your completed prescription form should be presented to you after your eye test. If not, just ask for one; you are entitled to it. You are under no obligation to purchase any frames or complete glasses from the optician. Under English Law you can buy your glasses from anywhere that you chose.
Q: Is there any legal age for buying prescription glasses online?
A: Yes, you have to be 16 years old or over and also if you supply us your prescription, it must be issued by a registered optician within the last two years.
Q: Which frames and lenses do you think would be most suitable for me?
A: If you look at the ‘Optilabs Choice’ for your particular sport, we suggest the frames and lenses that we feel are most suitable for your needs. More detailed information on lenses can also be found in our lenses section located on the menu bar on the left hand side of your page. If however, your requirements are more specific or for individual advice, contact us directly and speak to one of our technical team.
Q: Should I choose single vision, bifocal or varifocal lenses?
A: Both bifocal and varifocal lenes should only really be needed if you require distance and near vision simultaneously. However, if your everyday glasses are bifocal or varifocal, you may wish to continue this through to your sports glasses.
Q: What are the advantages of polarised lenses?
A: Your eyes work hard even under normal condition, moving and adjusting to receive thousands of visual impressions each second. Under a tougher condition when your eyes encounter glare like sunlight, your eyes work even harder. The pupils contract, your eyelids close to narrow slits and the end result is you feeling fatigued. In basic terms, polarised lenses cut out the horizontal glare meaning you don’t have to squint and you get maximum visual comfort.
We have a wide range of polarised lenses, brown being the best all-rounder. The other colours are much more specialist, please see or lenses section for more details.
Q: What is the usual delivery time on my glasses?
A: 10 working days from time of order.
Q: Do I need to have a prescription to buy sports glasses from Optilabs?
A: No. Whilst we specialize in sports glasses for prescription wearers, you can experience all the benefits of our lenses without a prescription. Simply select ‘non prescription’ from the lenses drop down menu when you come to buy.
Q: I have entered some information incorrectly, what should I do now?
A: Contact us immediately by phone or by email. You must do this within 24 hrs as our ordering process is all automated and therefore very quick. Unfortunately Optilabs cannot be held responsible for wrongly entered information so please take you time and check your details carefully.
Q: Can you supply normal frames and lenses?
A: Yes! Because we are an optical factory outlet and this gives us two big advantages… Firstly, as a factory outlet, we supply frames and lenses to high street opticians, therefore we can offer a huge range of lenses (far more than your own optician will offer). Secondly, because we make all our lenses at our own in-house laboratory, we can offer them to you at a significantly reduced cost – in most cases up to 60% less than your optician would charge!
Q: How strong are the sports glasses?
A: Very! The Blackbird frames are made exclusively for us in France to genuine military specification. Most other frames are made from very strong composite materials and are up to 5 times stronger than cellulose acetate (the most commonly used plastic in optical frame manufacture). Our Dakota frames are 100% titanium. Added to this, all our polarised lenses are laminated making them virtually unbreakable and both our polarised and photochromic lenses offer full UV protection.
Q: How will I know that my new glasses will fit me?
A: The Blackbird comes with self-adjustable side arms which are easily shortened or lengthened. Most other frames can also be adjusted by yourself, however, we request that you contact us by phone or email to discuss individual requirements.
Q: What range of powers can you supply to prescription lenses?
A: Unfortunately, that will depend on more than just the prescription itself. It will also depend on the type of lens you require, the frame you have chosen and your pupil distance measurement (for more on pupil distance see earlier FAQ). However, as a ball-park figure, a minus prescription up to -10 spherical (or Sph). A plus prescription up to +8 Sph, and cylinder (or cyl) up to +/-6. If you are in any doubt, please don't hesitate to 'phone us on 0208 6865708 to make further enquiries, or drop us an e-mail.
Q: What are indicies, High Index?
A: The "index", or refractive index of a material means how dense it is. Simply, the higher the refractive index then the thinner the lens is going to be for short sighted, or "Minus" prescriptions. This is not necessarily the case for Long sighted, or "Plus" Prescriptions. For high prescriptions to correct long sightedness then the "Asphericity" of the lens is more important than the index. This is an altogether, more complicated area of Ophthalmic Lenses and if you would like more information then you ought to contact us with your personal requirements and we shall be happy to assist you.
