...

What Is A BackLit Box And Why Don’t You Have One Yet?

Every once in a while I find an email in my inbox from some independant company that wants to send me a product to check out. In theory, it is a solid business marketing model. You find individuals that have a large social media presence, with the hope that they will help spread the word about your product. Where the plan usually breaks down is in the quality of the product. Very often I find myself looking at a product, wondering…”What the heck were they thinking?”. At that point, I contact the company and tell them that I wish to return the product. Having me keep it and write about it can only do them harm.

But every so often I come across a great product that has been well executed and well thought out. Which is exactly how I would describe the Backlit Box. The basic principle is having an image printed on a special photographic film, mounting that to a frame and then having the film lit up by LEDs.

Initial Thoughts:

Now I know what you are thinking. “Is he talking about the gimmicky display cases that you see in malls in rural America?” To be honest, at first, that is what I thought it was, but like all good lessons in life, sometimes it is fun being wrong. Upon opening the package, I immediacy noticed the quality of product. From the detailed photographic film to the clean and unobtrusive black frame, I was certainly caught off guard. However it wasn’t until I plugged it in that it really began to shine…pun most definitely intended 🙂

Backlit Box Patagonia

The image that I choose to be turned into a Backlit Box was one of my favorites from Patagonia in Southern Chile. It had rich saturated colors and nice soft shadows that I felt would work well with this concept of product…and I was right this time. The next two images illustrate the difference between when it is powered on and when it is left unplugged.

As you can see, the Backlit Box even looks great during the day.


How Is It Made? 

It starts out with your image being printed on that special photographic film that I mentioned earlier called “Duratrans”. Originally trademarked by Kodak, the material they use is called “Fujitrans Crystal Archive Display Material”, which is certainly a mouth full. This kind of material has been around for years and is even used in movie theaters. So back to the process. The material is exposed on a special laser printer and then developed in a darkroom for warm photography quality images. The film is then permanently adhered to the frame (PVC plastic) using an acrylic adhesive. The Backlit Box is then laminated inside and out to protect from UV rays (fading). Fun fact, the duratrans is a continuous tone process which means the resolution equivalent is around 1400dpi or so. Now that is high quality! For more information about the material, you can visit the Backlit Box Product information page HERE.

How Much Is This Going To Set Me Back?

Surprisingly, not that much. When compared with other similar products, Backlit Box seems to be nearly 1/3 or 1/2 the price.

They start at $90 for an 8×8 and go up to $265 for a 20×30. Soon they also plan on offering custom sizes as well, which should help those of you that love to get “crop” happy with your images. You can find their entire pricing sheet HERE.

Final Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised with not only the quality of the Backlit Box, but also how much both my wife and I really love the product. It actually acts as a nightlight for my newborn son in his Nursery and both friends and family members have been impressed when they see it in person. Will I use this with my photography business? I am certainly considering it. They make great gifts and with the right kind of image, the Backlit Box truly displays your images in a creative, unique and beautiful way.

*You can win one of these away in a Google+ Exclusive Giveaway I started last night. It runs through October 2nd, 2011. Click HERE for more details.

About the Author

Upcoming Photo Workshop Adventures...

Wildlife Photography Workshop in Brazil Jaguars of the Pantanal

July 31st – Aug. 7th, 2025
 
The Pantanal region of Brazil is known as the land of the Jaguar. Nowhere else on Earth is there a higher concentration of these elusive big cats than this remote region of Southern Brazil, close to the Southern Amazon Basin. In addition to Jaguars, you will see Caimen, Capybara and a wide assortment of birds.

Enjoy a Cerro Torre Sunrise at the Patagonia Photography Workshop Adventure with Colby Brown

Patagonia Photo Workshop – Argentina Edition

April 14th – 23rd, 2024
 
Patagonia is one of the most wild, beautiful & dramatic mountain ranges on the planet. We split our time between the incredible Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, home to both Cerro Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy.

Patagonia Photography Workshop Adventure

April 1st – 10th, 2025
 
Patagonia is one of the most wild, beautiful & dramatic mountain ranges on the planet. We split our time between the incredible Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chile and Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, home to both Cerro Torre and Mt. Fitz Roy.

Aurora Over Skogafoss in South Iceland from Colby Brown's Iceland Winter Photo Workshop

Iceland Winter Photo Workshop – Ice Caves & Auroras

March 3rd – 10th, 2025
 
Winter in Iceland is one of those unique experiences that everyone should have at least once in their life. With this workshop, we will focus our time on the South of Iceland, focusing our time on Ice Caves, Northern Lights, and glaciers, but we will also photograph a number of waterfalls such as Gullfoss, Bruarfoss, Seljalandsfoss, Skogarfoss and more.

Leave a comment

Don't Miss out!

Join 34k other photographers who have signed up for my monthly Newsletter full of gear reviews, workshops announcements, giveaways & MORE!

Seraphinite AcceleratorOptimized by Seraphinite Accelerator
Turns on site high speed to be attractive for people and search engines.