A standard progressive lens starts as a semi-finished molded lens with the progressive design already molded on the front surface (hard, soft, short corridor, etc). The manufacturing lab then fabricates the Rx on the back of the lens without changing the base of the progressive design that has been printed onto the lens.

In contrast, digital surface progressives use software that takes into account pantoscopic inclination, tip distance, Rx, frame mounting position, and sometimes even eye movement patterns to create a "bespoke" progressive design for each patient. You can also get the best prescription lenses for HTC Vive online.

Then special hardware is required to manufacture the lenses. In theory, this offers better peripheral vision and definition. Therefore, "freeform" is often used interchangeably with "digital" to imply that a lens is not limited to the same initial shape parameters as a standard lens.

Although digital lenses are often referred to by their brand name, "brand" is actually software that does the design based on what patients think they like best. Ultimately, this can be a hard, soft, or short corridor design, depending on the input specified by the optometrist. As a result, the results are unique to the patient's prescription.

So, contrary to what many people believe, this is not the lens itself, but the process of making the lens surface. No two lens manufacturers use the exact same software or hardware to create their digital progressive kit.

Therefore, not every optical boutique can be made possible by assembling experience with every type of digital lens available, as they all have slightly different assembly requirements. Most offices choose one or two digital lens manufacturers to gain experience in digital lens fitting.