Why progressive lenses are expensive?

People panic more at their Progressive glasses bill than they are being told about their age-related reading problem. Jokes apart, yes, progressive glasses are expensive compared to bifocal or any other single vision lens. Why is that you ask? That is what we have discussed here.

Let's talk about telephones and mobile phones! It May be irrelevant for now, but trust me, you will get the hang of it by the end of this paragraph. At the start, we needed telephones just to contact each other verbally. Later, we wanted to share written texts apart from the need of speaking to each other. And then, we wanted this communicating device to be handy and multifunctional like telling us time, reminding us about things, having camera to keep memories in record, letting us listen to music, letting us get information's with just 2 swipes. This all was solved with a device, which is called as smartphone. Now, compare the prices of a telephone, a basic button phone and a Smartphone. Can you see the difference? 

Single vision lenses are like telephones, Fulfilling the basic visual needs. Bi-focals are like basic button phones, with an extra feature. Progressives are like smartphones. All in one!

The technology spent in manufacturing a progressive lens is more than any other bi-focal or single vision lenses. Incorporating, different powers for different distances in a single lens without any marks on the lens, that's a bit more, right? 

Progressive lens design

Progressive lenses price range varies according to the visual comfort they provide.

To make it affordable for people who need them (people working on computer screens) there are progressives manufactured at a low cost. These conventional progressive lenses have limitation.

Above here is a conventional progressive lens design. The dotted lines as you can see, depicts the division between viewing zone and the side peripheral distortion area. The peripheral area, also called as distortion/prismatic area, is blurred when looked through. So, the wearer has to point out their nose towards the thing, that is kept at a mid-distance or reading distance, to see clear. If they look through the sides of lenses, everything will be seen blurred (as shown below).

Progressive lenses price keeps going up as the mid and near distance corridor of the lens widens i.e., the peripheral distortion area/prismatic area is less. In such lenses, wearer can even look through the sides for viewing mid or near distance clear, without moving their heads. Below is a comparison between moderately wide and edge to edge clear progressive lens.

(a)moderately wider corridor progressives

(b)Progressives with edge to edge clarity

 

These wider corridor lenses are mostly required by the people who work on multiple screens or have to multitask at multiple distances in day-to-day life like pilots, who have to see plane's cockpit clear at various angles.