Backlit film (also known as "Duratrans") is one of our most popular medias and our specialty. But, it's important to remember the characteristics of this media and what its meant for to make sure its the right fit for you.

The best way to think of backlit film and it's uses is to think of movie posters at the cinema and menu boards at fast food restaurants.

This is the normal behavior of backlit film. Because the film is meant mostly to be 'lit' from behind, it can sometimes be shocking when you first see the print and see that it's much darker than the original. This is because the print gets much brighter and lighter when it's "lit up". If the print wasn't made darker on the film, then it will be washed out, light, and unusable when lit from behind, so the print must be darkened to prevent this. It's important to remember that you're ordering backlit film because you want to light it from behind and accept the compromise that it's going to need to be darker when it's not lit to achieve the right look when it is lit.

Think of printing on backlit film and duratrans as a slight compromise. It's almost impossible to get your print to look 100% perfect both with the light source on and with it off. For it to be 100% color and exposure perfect with lights on, the print needs to be a bit darker so that when it's illuminated, it doesn't appear washed out and faded. For it to be 100% color and exposure perfect with the lots off, the print would be a bit too light, and then you'd be dissatisfied with it with the lights on, as the image will appear washed out. Our backlit film/duratrans process compromises for this with a profile that works for 99% of our customers with the proper compromise to look as good as possible in both situations. If you feel the image is still way too dark when illuminated, snap a photo of it at night, with no sun and exterior lighting off, so we can see the backlit in effect, and then work with you to determine how to correct your file for printing.

Unfortunately, backlit film is a difficult media to color and light calibrate because there are a million different applications for backlit film, and millions of combinations of hardware, lights (LED, incandescent, fluorescent, etc). To perfectly calibrate for color and lightness you'd need to measure profiles of your exact application and then work with a professional photo lab. Posterprintshop does not offer color or light correction as we use the industry standard profiles for backlit film and print on the highest quality film available. As mentioned, backlit film is one of our most popular media types and is our speciality - our settings and prints work for 99% of customers wanting backlit film. If you plan to print a lot of backlit film, we suggest ordering a few small test prints of your file or photo at different exposures (lighten and darken your file on your end at certain percentages, place the files in a row, and order that test print. Once you receive it, you can place the test print with the different exposure levels into your specific application or light box and see which works best for you (which is the best compromise for you, as described above), and then you'll know how to place all of your orders in the future. One trial and error order can make the process perfect for you in the future.

Backlit film, like it's name, is meant to be lit from behind, hence "backlit". It's also a film, which means it's slightly transparent, so that light can shine through it and light it up. It's not opaque like paper. This means that the entire film, and everything we print on it, is going to be slightly translucent so that light shines through it. It can be a common misconception that black is going to be solid or "opaque" and you won't see the light through it. Unfortunately that's impossible with backlit film. Remember, it's a white translucent material, and black is just another ink color being printed on the film (it's not magically turning that area opaque), so the black areas are going to light up a bit just like all of the print. Take a look a the wide variety of samples prints on our backlit film media page for examples and to see how posters, black, and colored prints look on this media.

If you have specific color, black, or other requirements, or are trying to make backlit film work for a special project other than the normal uses in traditional backlit frames, backlit film may not be the best media for you. For special projects, we always recommend ordering a small test print first to see if the media will work for you.

Posterprintshop is not responsible for backlit prints not working as expected in non-traditional uses.