The Cutting Edge

Five in-office finishing trends that can benefit patient service and your bottom line

By Susan Tarrant

Automated features are making the process practically fool-proof. Image courtesy of Coburn Technologies

It’s been years since anyone could describe in-office edging equipment as being cumbersome and difficult to use. Contemporary finishing systems are now small and so user friendly that any staff member can be trained in his or her operation.

But they have also become much more just “easy,” offering up contemporary technology that puts a world of finishing capabilities in an ECP’s back room, and providing a very real profit center.

“We always explain to ECPs that with today’s shrinking profits, it’s essential to review their business yearly and to increase their margins,” says Clark Smith, eastern regional sales manager for Santinelli International. “They must be competitive with both one-hour Big Box stores and all of the emerging online retailers in order to thrive.”

And these days it’s getting easier to do just that.

“The biggest concern [in the past] has probably been that inhouse edging was too difficult,” says Andy Huthoefer, vice president of Satisloh North American Group (which includes Essilor Instruments and National Optronics). “However, today’s edging systems really make it very easy—even for an operator with little experience—to edge lenses with ease and great success.”

Eyecare Business recently spoke with equipment manufacturers about what they consider to be some of the more important advances in the category and the in-office finishing trends that are having an impact on eyecare practices.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

1 A practice’s success comes down to patient experience and customer service. When asked the reasons ECPs give for bringing lens finishing in house, all of the experts interviewed said that increased customer service— through quicker turnaround and quality control—topped every client’s list.

“Our society thrives on immediate gratification,” says Katherine Allen, marketing manager for Briot USA. “The doctor who can provide that wins.”

“With up-to-date technology, an in-house lab can quickly and easily process the styles and materials that appeal to today’s product-savvy customers, including the latest thin and lightweight lens materials, photochromic and polarized lenses, wraparound frames, and small-B frame styles,” adds Manny Mola, senior sales representative for Coburn Technologies.

AUTOMATION

2 ECPs will often cite the need for specialized staff as a reason why they’ve avoided establishing an in-house lab, but the reality is that equipment has evolved (and is continuing to evolve) to a touch-screen, user-friendly interface that needs very little operator skill.

One manufacturer’s representative said that the automation is at such a level that even a child could finish a simple single vision lens.

For example, centering and blocking are steps that once required the skills of an optician or lab tech to ensure accuracy, but contemporary equipment has automated those functions. Furthermore, some models even have built-in lensometers to read powers and identify progressive markings.

The automation options grow, and it is a trend that is only going to continue.

“I see industry innovators keeping their eyes and ears on what the industry demands and continuing to develop equipment that is simple to use, and can work nearly independent from the operator,” says Allen.

CUSTOMIZATION

3 Arguably the biggest trend in retail finishing equipment is the advanced edging ability, which allows for lenses to be cut in any shape imaginable. It means the sky is the limit when dealing with rimless styles.

“Personally, I love to see the customized shape abilities coming out,” says Briot USA’s Allen. “I see the ability to produce this high-end personalized technology with a level of ease and automation as a real bonus for practices that are aiming to set themselves apart from their competition.”

There’s more than just custom shapes coming out of today’s edgers. Drill and notch technology is allowing such personalization to the lenses as etching, countersunk gems, and intricate cut-outs.

And because it can all be done in house, ECPs can get truly creative with their patients and offer the kind of partnership in design that can’t be achieved if one is sending every customized and complicated lens job out to the lab.

Automated drilling makes rimless jobs a snap. Image by National Optronics

MORE CHOICES

4 A practice should be able to offer the widest choice available. And its in-office lab needs to be able to handle that variety. The newest machines come well-equipped to handle any lens material (all plastics, polycarbonate, and Trivex), shape, wrap, or special needs of the job.

■ BEVELS, WRAPS, AND DRILLING. Advanced tracing technology can handle any base curve, giving patients a wider choice in frame curvature that can still be finished in-house.

Machines with the ability to produce shelf bevels provide the ability to finish lenses for even high-wrap frames in-house. Digitally controlled custom bevels can now happen easily, allowing the operator to place them wherever he wants and opening up the possibilities for endless frame/lens matches.

Finishing labs are trending smaller and smaller. Image courtesy of Santinelli International

The ability of some units to perform angled drilling is also having an impact on the types of curves and frame styles ECPs can offer from their edging lab.

■ TREATMENTS. The newest AR treatments are super hydrophobic and oleophobic in nature so that the lenses are less likely to smudge and attract dirt and dust. But that used to mean those lenses were harder to edge in-house because they’d often slip off axis, causing breakage or redos. New techniques (including milling or soft-grind technology) eliminate that issue.

■ MIX AND MATCH. Choices aren’t limited to just machinery. Purchasing options now allow ECPs to buy only the technology that’s right for their needs, with manufacturers offering mix-and-match options within individual equipment lines. Tracers, blockers, and edgers offer varying degrees of features, so ECPs can spend their money only on the features they want.

SMALL AND GREEN

5 Each year the equipment gets smaller and more environmentally friendly. Compact designs and more all-in-one features (such as drill-in-edger units) are answering the most common fear of ECPs: “Where will I put it?”

“Even a small closet is sufficient for an in-office lab,” notes Santinelli’s Smith.

To answer ECP concerns that in-office finishing can be messy, smelly, and taxing to an office’s resources (such as water), manufacturers have figured out ways to reduce and reuse.

Saving on water consumption has been answered with recirculating filtration systems and dry edging. Swarf can now be contained, collected, and condensed for easy disposal. And deodorizing systems can handle any smells associated with edging certain lens materials.

EASIER. SMALLER. BETTER.

Add these trends to the fact that it can greatly reduce lab bills, and in-office finishing can be a valid solution for practices.

“I also see a large amount of practices not currently edging that are starting to catch onto the savings, profit, and customer satisfaction that in-house edging provides,” observes Allen, who adds: “There are many eyecare providers; it’s up to each practice to define to their customer base what sets them apart.” EB