Andrew Karp, Group Editor, Lenses & Technology
Andrew has reported on many facets of the optical industry for
Vision Monday and
20/20 Magazine since 1987. He specializes in covering the latest developments in ophthalmic dispensing, spectacle lenses and treatments, lens processing technology, optical laboratories and wearable technology. Andrew edits
VMail Technology, a weekly e-newsletter that spotlights new products, software and online applications for labs and dispensers. He helps plan and produce Vision Monday’s annual Global Leadership Summit. Contact Andrew at
akarp@jobson.com.
By Andrew Karp
Friday, March 22, 2019 12:28 PM
As I walk the aisles of Vision Expo, I find myself reflecting on the show and how it’s changed over the years. Although I missed the very first Vision Expo in New York in 1986, I’ve covered nearly every Expo since then, both East and West. Over the course of some 61 shows I’ve filled dozens of notebooks, taken thousands of photos and written countless stories about the companies, products and people that all make up the Expo experience.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, March 11, 2019 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—Tickets are still available for Rockin’ for New Eyes, the annual rock ‘n’ roll fundraiser in support of New Eyes for the Needy. The popular show, which will take place at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square on March 23, features volunteer performers from throughout the optical industry and is a highlight of Vision Expo week.
By Andrew Karp
Thursday, February 14, 2019 12:44 PM
I had a dentist friend named Elliot who loved jazz and played good jazz piano. When Elliot began losing his sight in his 70s, he worried how it would affect his playing, or if he’d be able to play at all. Elliot lived in New York City, so he turned to a local music school for visually impaired people that was run at the time by Lighthouse International: the
Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School (FMDG), the only community music school for the blind and visually impaired in the U.S. There he found a caring community of expert teachers and fellow musicians who helped him navigate the unfamiliar terrain of vision loss and gave him the tools and support he needed to continue making the music he loved.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 28, 2019 12:24 AM
LAS VEGAS—Exciting, energizing and exhausting. Those three words characterize my experience at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show held Jan. 7 to 10, 2019 in Las Vegas. If you’ve never been to CES, just imagine a trade show and conference with more than 4,500 exhibitors from over 155 different countries occupying more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit space. Add in 188,000 attendees and 6,500 media to the mix and you get the idea.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:30 AM
As recently as a decade ago, a mention of digital eye strain (DES) would have most people scratching their heads. Today it’s ubiquitous, a condition of modern life. From toddlers to millennials to seniors, from city dwellers to shepherds in remote mountain villages, no one is immune from DES and its effects, which include dry, irritated eyes, blurred vision and assorted aches and pains. More than half of American adults suffer adverse effects from overexposure to screens, according to The Vision Council, which coined the term digital eye strain.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:29 AM
As knowledge and awareness of digital eye strain has increased, so too have the number of solutions for alleviating its symptoms. Solutions range from behavioral—reducing screen time, adjusting work spaces, work habits and screen brightness—to a growing range of products designed to prevent or alleviate DES symptoms.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:28 AM
As part of its ongoing efforts to raise public awareness of digital eyestrain, The Vision Council conducted a media campaign in 2018 in conjunction with Health Vision Month in May. The Vision Council teamed up with actress, journalist, podcaster and TV host Maria Menounos—best known for her correspondence on “E! News”—for a sponsored Instagram post promoting the importance of wearing glasses outfitted with specialized lenses to protect the eyes from digital devices, highlighting product from Eyewear & Accessories (E&A) Division member Marchon Eyewear. Menounos reaches 971,000 followers on Instagram, and her post has received nearly 14,000 likes.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:27 AM
Many vision researchers believe there is growing evidence that digital screen use is a contributing factor to the spread of myopia worldwide. For example, Essilor USA’s website, Myopiaexperts (https://www.essilorusa.com/myopiaexperts#/), points out that myopia tends to progress during childhood, as the eyes continue to grow and develop.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:26 AM
Exposure to blue light between 410 and 450 nm contributes to digital eye strain. Vision Monday has compiled an online resource that consists of descriptions of 48 different products that offer blue light management solutions for every situation, both indoors and outdoors.
By Andrew Karp
Friday, January 11, 2019 11:13 AM
As
Vision Monday’s lenses and technology editor, I visit a lot of optical laboratories. Viewed from outside, most labs are unremarkable. Often located in industrial parks or on side streets, their drab exteriors give little indication of what goes on inside. Step onto the production floor, though, and you’ll see a scene humming with activity. Technicians are loading generators, edgers and coating machines, job trays are moving along conveyors, quality inspectors are checking lenses for flaws and Rx orders are being packed for shipment to customers. It’s an optical ballet in which every movement is carefully choreographed, and it requires skill, energy and careful attention to detail to execute.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, December 17, 2018 12:30 AM
I’ve never spent much time on farms. But I know a silo when I see it. I spotted one the other day at my doctor’s office. The receptionist handed me an iPad and asked to enter my medical history. Height and weight. Major illnesses and surgeries. What medications do you take? Are you a smoker?
By Andrew Karp
Friday, December 7, 2018 10:21 AM
It used to be that work anniversaries were typically celebrated on milestone years. After 10 years on the job, a loyal employee might receive a plaque commending them for their years of service. A quarter century’s worth of work might be rewarded with a ceremony at which the boss makes a speech and presents the employee with a gold watch inscribed with their name.
By Andrew Karp
Friday, October 5, 2018 3:45 PM
Anthony Bourdain was famous for eating almost anything put on his plate, as long as someone considered it edible. In one episode of his CNN series, “
Parts Unknown,” he ate a seal, including the eyes, which his Inuit hosts consider a delicacy. His verdict: “Not bad.”
By Andrew Karp
Friday, September 21, 2018 12:05 AM
KIBBUTZ SHAMIR, Israel—
Shamir Optical Industry has a well-earned reputation for its innovative spectacle lens designs. Although the Israeli company has produced lenses since the 1970s, it distinguished itself in the late 1990s with its progressive lens designs, and then in the early 2000s with its pioneering freeform technology and personalized designs. Since then, Shamir has created an extensive product portfolio including everyday lenses such as the Autograph line of progressives, performance lenses such as Attitude, occupational lenses such as Smart Office, and freeform bifocals and single vision lenses. All are derived from Shamir’s proprietary technologies such as Eye-Point Technology, Intellicorridor, As-Worn Quadro and Natural Posture.
By Andrew Karp, Group Editor, Lenses and Technology
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 12:05 AM
NEW YORK—Three years ago, as ocular telehealth began to attract widespread attention throughout the eyecare industry, the focus was largely on “store and forward” technology, which involves collecting clinical information and sending it electronically to another site for evaluation, and the then new technology of visual acuity testing via computer or smartphone.