SAN DIEGO--Phantom Research Laboratories has rolled out a number of products for tinting and treating lenses. The company's new OptiSafe Digital Super Tinter provides faster tinting by using a temperature probe located directly in the dye solution. Measured with a digital LCD temperature controller in front of each tank, the tinter's split lid allows technicians to use each tank without removing the lid. Tinting solutions can be stirred with a variable-speed stirring mechanism.

The unit features non-stick tanks for easy cleanup, and each vat only requires 300W of power--30 percent of the wattage needed to power similar units available on the market. Phantom Research will have the OptiSafe tinter on display this month at Vision Expo East in New York, and in Mido in Milan.

The OptiSafe Digital Super  Tinter from Phantom Research allows operators to use each tank without removing the lid.

Phantom has also introduced OptiSafe Lens Dye Packets, which, according to the company, provide consistent and uniform colors in the least amount of tinting time. The molecular composition of the dye allows for rapid penetration into the lens matrix and resists fading. Phantom offers more than 100 colors. Dyes are available in packets, three-ounce bottles, and 32-ounce bottles.

Also available is the OptiSafe UV Formula III, a super-concentrated paste for UV treating standard plastic lenses. Each packet will treat more than 200 lenses, has a shelf life of more than 2 years, and will not yellow lenses. UV will treat lenses to 95 percent or more within one minute. Optimum AR compatibility can be achieved in as little as three minutes.

Rounding out the line of OptiSafe products is the OptiSafe Blocking Pad, which provide a thick pad that releases easily, and which won't twist or turn during edging, thus reducing breakage and spoilage. The OptiSafe Blocking Pads work well on plastic, polycarbonate, and glass lenses, and on lenses treated with Teflon and AR coatings. --Seth J. Bookey