Helpful Hints for Choosing Tints
Helpful Hints for Choosing Tints
Take a quick look at your safety glasses. What color are the lenses?
Ideally, the lens color was chosen for the specific tasks that your work entails. Different colors filter light in different ways, which makes some tints better suited for certain tasks. For blocking UV light, lens color does not matter. In fact, clear lenses can block UV light as well as dark-colored lenses.
You can enhance tint performance even further with mirrored and polarized coatings. Mirrored lenses provide additional light and glare deflection. Polarization boosts visual acuity and glare reduction in highly reflective areas (near water, metal surfaces, etc.).
Many safety glasses models offer the option of selecting a lens tint. If it’s time for an upgrade, take time to select the right tint color for your tasks. This selection chart will help:
| Lens Color | Best Application |
|---|---|
| Blue | Enhances contours and color perception. Reduces glare in bright conditions (like snowy worksites), near highly reflective surfaces (like water, glass or metal structures). Also ideal when working with sodium vapor lighting. |
| Brown, Espresso and Copper | For bright sunlight and high-glare conditions that can increase eye strain and fatigue. |
| Clear | Ideal for most indoor work. |
| Gray | Minimizes outdoor sunlight and glare. Enables accurate color perception. |
| Dark Gray | Minimizes eye fatigue due to outdoor sunlight and glare. |
| Green | Reduces glare while boosting contrast and sharpness. Preserves color balance. Certain green shades reduce eyestrain. Ideal for precise tasks. |
| Red and Vermillion | For indoor tasks where high contrast and enhanced detail perception is needed (like during inspections). Also soothes eyes for extended wear. |
| Yellow, Orange and Amber | Increases contrast in hazy, foggy or low-light conditions. |