And at the risk of the obvious, if youвЂ™re looking at edgelit lightbox models such as our EdgeLyte Premium LED, then the cabinet depth factor doesnвЂ™t really apply, since the lamps are not behind your backlit film. Another way to look at it is simply, вЂњdistanceвЂќ вЂ“ because the further the lamps are from the graphic face, the more uniform the light intensity. As a matter of fact, of all the tips weвЂ™ve discussed, itвЂ™s fair to say that increased cabinet depth is the most effective factor by a long shot, for achieving uniform diffusion in a lightbox. For direct-backlit lightboxes, as you can imagine, the deeper the cabinet, the better the diffusion. CABINET DEPTH - This one is probably our favorite around here.Your lightboxes supplier can help you determine which models have higher lamp densities. The lamp density thing also applies not only to Direct-Backlit lightboxes where the lamps are positioned behind your backlit duratrans, but also to edgelit lightboxes, as we see here: This is true for both Fluorescent and LED lightboxes. LAMP DENSITY - As you can guess, the closer together your lamps, the less chance of visible shadowing in between them.Regular paper, transparent films, and other non-backlit media are not designed to evenly scatter the light source вЂ“ but true Backlit Film comes with its own diffusive property which helps smooth out the brightness.

MEDIA - Be sure to use a graphic print film that is specifically designed for backlit display.

Some lightbox suppliers вЂ“ such as yours truly вЂ“ even offer lamp tape by the roll, for customers who want to add it to the lamps in their existing lightboxes. Anyway, if youвЂ™re ordering a fluorescent lightbox, some models offer the option of added lamp tape.

LAMP TAPE - Actually, this should be tip number two-and-a-half, because lamp tape is only available for fluorescent lightboxes, even though more and more customers are switching to LED.

For new lightboxes, of course you can ask about these options before you buy вЂ“ but for existing lightboxes, they may or may not be upgradeable, depending on the model. Also, the thickness of the lens can vary as well вЂ“ and generally, thicker lenses yield slightly better diffusion. For example, the white lens in one lightbox model may deliver more or less light diffusion than another. LENSES - Check the diffusive properties of your lightbox materials to ensure optimal performance.Of course you canвЂ™t always re-design your whole graphic just for diffusion вЂ“ but itвЂ™s a good trick to know. This is not a perfect analogy because no matter how many flashlights you add to the cluster, you may never reach the apparent intensity of the spotlight if you were to stare straight into it, but the amount of illumination that reaches the western shore from the cluster of tiny light sources could easily match that of the spotlight, if you keep adding tiny flashlights by the millions or however many it takes. Both sources may appear equally bright to the person on the western shore, even though one of the sources is really just a cluster of many not-so-bright sources. Now letвЂ™s place a single spotlight next to the cluster, to achieve the same result. One way to gain perspective on this is to imagine 1,000 tiny flashlights all clustered together at the eastern shore of a lake, to create a light source visible from the western shore. Lumens - In laymanвЂ™s terms, the number of lumens generated by a light source is the total brightness or light intensity emitted by the source, regardless of size. LetвЂ™s take a look at each of these approaches, and see how they relate to graphic lightboxes for displaying duratrans backlit film. The two most common units of measurement for light intensity are lux and lumens. In commercial lighting, sometimes youвЂ™ll see different units of measurement when it comes to the brightness of the light source.

Photox for backlit light box