Most of the modern movie posters available these days are printed double sided with the reverse a mirror image of the front. The reason is so the colors don't get washed out when placed in the backlit displays that theaters use.
I find it kind of a shame to be displaying these posters in conventional frames and wasting that potential po factor that you get from backlighting, so I decided to build my own poster lightbox. I wanted something that would be fairly easy to swap posters, not too deep so I could mount it in a hallway, and which didn't generate a lot of heat. Heat is the enemy of posters and will cause them to fade quickly.
I decided to build the lightbox using led rope light as it was convenient, ran cool and simply plugged into a wall socket. I also discovered a front loading poster frame from a company called spotlight displays ( Spotlight Displays - Movie Poster Frames ) The frame is ideal for a lightbox. The frame rails snap out and allow the poster to be changed without removing the frame from the wall. The frame is also open in the back and the poster is held between two layers of a PETG plastic. The plastic is somewhat ranslucent. This provides bot anti-glare on the front, and also acts as a diffuser in the back, allowing a shallower profile.
I used 50' of LED rope light, purchased from a big box store for around $50. The frame was made from 1x2 pine and the backing was a piece of white glossy panelling I had laying around. I painted the outside of the frame flat black, but left the inside raw.
I initially tried using the mounting clips that came with the rope light, but found that they tended to break and allow the rope light to fall to the bottom. The solution was to use 3/8" cable clamps. These allow the rope light to pass through easily which adjusts tension, but still holds it in place.
It only took me an afternoon to construct, and the end result is pleasing and everything I hoped for. I still need to secure the middle of each run of the rope light to the back of the frame a bit better. It is falling forward in a few places and that tends to cause hot spots. Other than that, this is a quick and easy way to get something that makes a nice addition to a home theater.
Pictures follow:
I find it kind of a shame to be displaying these posters in conventional frames and wasting that potential po factor that you get from backlighting, so I decided to build my own poster lightbox. I wanted something that would be fairly easy to swap posters, not too deep so I could mount it in a hallway, and which didn't generate a lot of heat. Heat is the enemy of posters and will cause them to fade quickly.
I decided to build the lightbox using led rope light as it was convenient, ran cool and simply plugged into a wall socket. I also discovered a front loading poster frame from a company called spotlight displays ( Spotlight Displays - Movie Poster Frames ) The frame is ideal for a lightbox. The frame rails snap out and allow the poster to be changed without removing the frame from the wall. The frame is also open in the back and the poster is held between two layers of a PETG plastic. The plastic is somewhat ranslucent. This provides bot anti-glare on the front, and also acts as a diffuser in the back, allowing a shallower profile.
I used 50' of LED rope light, purchased from a big box store for around $50. The frame was made from 1x2 pine and the backing was a piece of white glossy panelling I had laying around. I painted the outside of the frame flat black, but left the inside raw.
I initially tried using the mounting clips that came with the rope light, but found that they tended to break and allow the rope light to fall to the bottom. The solution was to use 3/8" cable clamps. These allow the rope light to pass through easily which adjusts tension, but still holds it in place.
It only took me an afternoon to construct, and the end result is pleasing and everything I hoped for. I still need to secure the middle of each run of the rope light to the back of the frame a bit better. It is falling forward in a few places and that tends to cause hot spots. Other than that, this is a quick and easy way to get something that makes a nice addition to a home theater.
Pictures follow:
