In optics, the refractive index or index of refraction of a substance or a medium, is a measure of the speed of light going through the medium. Or how much the speed of light is reduced inside the material that the lenses are made of.
There are two common qualities to glass and other transparent materials witch are directly related to there refractive index.
Light rays bend and change direction when they cross the interface between air and the material, an effect that is used in corrective (Ophthalmic) lenses, to concentrate light into the focal point.
Light partially reflects from surfaces that have a different reflective surface from that of there surroundings.
Lenses that are made with material that has a higher refractive index are going to be thinner, lighter, and flatter than lenses made from material with lower refractive index.
Lenses with higher refractive index have one main downside: the higher the refractive index, the higher the need for Anti Reflective coating on the lens(AR).
Your Business Advantage:
A modest investment in frames display – Gets you a complete pair of glasses in record time (as soon as the same day) for an unprecedented price (as low as $12 complete job)
Inventory cost and management is where retail and optical chains have a competitive edge over the independent optical retailer.
…With K-MARS you can beat that!
Inventory management is a burden every retail business must endure. Ophthalmic retail involves a variety of styles, sizes and colors. The required investment in inventory can run anywhere between ten and over hundred thousand Dollars. This inventory also has to be stored and managed, involving additional costs and tying up employees that otherwise would be engaged in creating income. Finally, there are always those inventory items that stay there for years and others that simply “disappear”…
The chains handle inventory very efficiently using central warehouse serving retail points, which carry display frame sets only. The real inventory is handled centrally by warehouse professionals equipped with expensive infrastructure and information systems. This is far beyond the reach of independent ECP’s.
This is where K-MARS steps in serving as the central warehouse for independent ECS’s with over 25,000 of 600 styles of inexpensive yet high quality frames, over 50,0000 of 50 different ophthalmic lens types and high production capacity optical laboratory. We pass our buying power advantage over to you, and gain unbeatable prices.
Free Yourself from Inventory with K-Mars Frame & Lenses Packages
You only need to make a minimal investment in display frame sets for demonstration and sizing on patients. You work Inventory-Free, as K-Mars has it available for you, as if it were your warehouse.
Once the patient’s frame model and prescription have been determined, all you need to do is place the order with K-MARS. Stock single vision jobs are typically shipped the same day for an unparalleled price.
Since you pay only upon order, this service is great for your cash flow as well.
Additionally, K-Mars Optical periodically refreshes your display, adding new styles and removing “dead items”.
The advantage of frame inventory management paired with the availability of stock lenses gains you a powerful business tool, increasing your efficiency and profitability.
This page is for new K-Mars Optical customers. If you already have a K-Mars Optical account and would like to register to order online please use the next link
Register to order online
Please fill and sign all the forms below (if available, attach your business license) and fax them to (800) 296-4660
Download new account registration forms
Once the information is processed a customer service representative will contact you with your account information.
To prevent any unnecessary delays please make sure no data is missing.
Thank you,
The K-Mars Optical Team
Stock Finished Lenses offer several advantages over their lab custom made counterpart.
…at K-MARS we pass them on to you.
The first and most significant advantage is cost. Price for Polycarbonate clear lenses for example, is only 25% of the labmanufactured counterparts. The cost advantage is even bigger when Anti-reflection Coating is considered. In case of polycarbonate lenses with AR coating stock finished lens is 6-8 times less expensive than the same prescription custom made in the lab.
It is important to understand that Stock Finished Lenses do not necessarily compromise quality. The cost advantage reflects benefit of mass production vs. manual custom lab work. Factories produce thousands of the same prescription and material per batch in standardized processes under stringent quality control. Optical labs typically don’t process the same prescription twice a day. The same applies for lens treatments and especially to Anti-reflection Coating, where production batches are as large as 1000 lenses per cycle with quality control exceeding what majority of optical laboratories can afford.
By definition, Stock Finished lenses are typically in stock and available for immediate delivery. Most of the single vision jobs today can be performed with stock finished lenses. K-Mars optical carries an inventory of 500,000 lenses in 6 different optical indexes (1.5 (CR39), 1.56(NK55), 1.57 ( Photo-Chromic),1.589 (Polycarbonate),1.61 (MR-8), and 1.67 (MR- 7)), covering the entire range of prescriptions in the sphere range from 6.00 up to -15.00 and cylinders as high as -6.00.
The barrier preventing many of today’s Eye Care Practitioners to benefit from Stock Finished Lenses’ price advantage is lens finishing a.k.a cutting and edging. Only 30% of Eye Care Practitioners can justify ( many people can afford but it doesn’t make economical sense) in-house lens finishing equipment, as its price can run up to $40,000 and a skilled operator’s annual expense is in the same range. The majority of all other Eye Care Practitioners are therefore at the mercy of regional optical laboratories that don’t pass that advantage to their customer. (Many are charging the same high price for the single vision prescription when in most of the cases inexpensive stock lenses are used).
Among the goals comprising the K-Mars mission is to enable access to Stock Finished lenses to all Eye Care Practitioners regardless of the business size or the owner’s financial abilities. As a result, K-Mars Optical evolved from stock lenses wholesaler accessible for limited group of ECP’s to Stock Lenses distributor catering to all licensed ECP. Every ECP can order stock lenses from K-Mars Optical with inexpensive charge for the finishing. This leaves the Eye Care Practitioner additional substantial margins, which can be used for customer discounts or significantly improving the practice’s cash flow.
Growing your Eye Care Practice business has never been easier. Our goal is to save you expenses while maintaining quality and performance satisfying your patients.
K-Mars brings to the table a complete suite of services, placing the independent ECP head-to-head with the chain stores. It is about cost of frames, lenses and lab work, it’s about logistic backbone and virtual inventory of frames and Lens packages saving the ECP tons of money. We have even invested in an ECP website and online retail solution setting up every ECP with a fully customized website and online eyewear outlet at a fraction of what it would normally cost.
We care for independent eye care practitioners
Harness our inventory, logistic system and lab service for your eye care practice business. With K-Mars Virtual Inventory you only order after a sale is made.
- Large inventory of frames, lenses and accessories at no additional cost - Reduced investment in physical inventory of frames - Complete lab service included - Save shipping from frame suppliers and to the lab
Improve your eye care business with significantly lower price for stock lenses. While typical labs charge the same price for custom-produced or stock lenses, we charge for actual lens used, and use stock lenses when ever possible.
The resulting savings are huge, making a real difference improving our client’s business strength.
Why buy 40 years-old, conventional progressive design when advanced digital freeform progressives are available for almost the same price? K-Mars customized Explorer progressive/single vision lenses are one of the most advanced progressive/ single vision lenses designs worldwide. The Freeform design eliminates the peripheral distortion caused by conventional progressive designs, and gives its user a much better focal point transfer, wider intermediate, wider vision field and provides a prescription that is accurate to the hundredth diopter making the lens extremely easy to adapt to, even for first time progressive users.
Don’t over pay for standard anti reflection coatings with low performance and high price tag. With K-Mars Optical you get the absolutely best Anti-Reflection possible for the lowest possible price. Our signature, almost clear aqua blue color and multiple super hydrophobic layers deliver a new industry standard.
