American Paper Optics
Paper and plastic 3D glasses and ISO-rated solar eclipse viewers, die-cut and assembled in Bartlett, Tennessee since 1990.
🇺🇸 Made in USA
Our assessment
Company details
Where American Paper Optics products are made
American Paper Optics does not describe a sourcing relationship; it describes a workforce. “Today, with a staff of 44 employees, APO manufactures more than 14 different types of specialty paper 3D glasses in an unlimited number of frame shapes.” Its own history page lists in-house manufacturing alongside its distribution channels.
Both the paper and the plastic viewers carry it. The stock paper glasses page reads “Proudly MADE IN THE USA, our stock Eclipse Glasses are spectacular for sales and premiums at schools, planetariums, science centers, and retailers,” and the Eclipser® HD plastic page closes with “Proudly MADE IN THE USA!”
The 3D product category pages describe the company as a leading manufacturer but carry no per-page origin line. That is silence rather than a contrary claim, and this profile does not stretch the eclipse wording across the ancillary catalogue — books, novelty items and the Solar Snap camera accessory carry no origin statement at all.
Made in USA fits here because the company names its own plant, its own headcount and its own product range, and puts an explicit origin line on the products where it matters most — ISO-rated solar viewers people hold in front of their eyes. The honest limit is that the line does not appear on every catalogue page, and this profile says which ones.
The story
John Jerit founded American Paper Optics in September 1990, in the company’s own words as a “start-from-scratch” company with only one main product. Thirty-five years later the Bartlett, Tennessee operation makes more than fourteen types of specialty paper 3D glasses in an unlimited number of frame shapes, with a staff of 44.
The catalogue runs from anaglyph and ChromaDepth® 3D glasses through HoloSpex® and polarized lenses, decoders and 3D Fireworks glasses, to custom die-cut shapes for promotions and True-Vue stereo viewers. In 2020 the same die-cutting and assembly lines were turned to face shields.
The eclipse business is the one most Americans have actually held. American Paper Optics makes ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses and handheld viewers in both paper and plastic, and it is the manufacturer of the eclipse glasses carried by the Artemis II crew.
Why they matter
Solar viewers are a category where manufacturing origin is a safety question rather than a preference. The 2017 and 2024 eclipses both produced waves of uncertified imports, and the difference between a compliant filter and a counterfeit one is invisible to the person buying it.
A company that makes its own filters in a plant it names, with a headcount it publishes, is answerable for them in a way a rebadged import never is. American Paper Optics puts “Proudly MADE IN THE USA” on the viewer pages themselves.
The 3D side is quieter but the same story: an American die-cutting and printing operation that has survived thirty-five years in a category almost entirely conceded to overseas production.
Shop American Paper Optics products
Paper and plastic 3D glasses — anaglyph, ChromaDepth®, HoloSpex®, polarized and decoder — plus ISO 12312-2 solar eclipse glasses and handheld viewers.
Shop all American Paper Optics products →Visit American Paper Optics website →
American Paper Optics questions
Are American Paper Optics glasses made in the USA?
The eclipse lines say so explicitly. The stock paper eclipse glasses page reads “Proudly MADE IN THE USA” and the plastic Eclipser® HD page closes with “Proudly MADE IN THE USA!” The 3D catalogue pages describe the company as the manufacturer but do not repeat the line.
Where is American Paper Optics based?
Bartlett, Tennessee. The company publishes the address 2995 Appling Road, Suite 106, Bartlett, TN 38133 on its own site.
When was American Paper Optics founded?
1990. The company’s own history page states: “In September of 1990, John Jerit founded a ‘start-from-scratch’ company with only one main product.”
Does the made-in-USA claim cover everything they sell?
No, and this profile does not stretch it. The explicit origin line appears on the eclipse-viewer pages. The 3D category pages and ancillary items such as books and the Solar Snap camera accessory carry no origin statement, so treat those as unverified rather than claimed.