Did you ever get a reply to the use of electroluminescent wire in a poster frame? I've never seen how bright the product is, but the idea of possibly powering my lightbox frame with batteries is perfect. My other alternative to a powerless frame requires side glow fiber optic cable, much more expensive.

These are great look posters. The design is simple yet effect.

I have read this forum and several others regarding the construction of backlit movie poster boxes. Most posts are old and dated, so I was wondering if these plans have been tweaked with newer options? If so, could someone post?

Thanks and I look forward to talking with you guys....and guyettes!

I posted mine in another thread that appears to of gotten deleted.

I find it really hard to get a decent shot of it, my camera doesn't take great shots in the dark, and I'm always getting my flash reflected back to me from the plexi.

I made mine a little different then the other ones on here. I actually took a used 4 bulb flourscent light fixture and hung it in my wall and built a frame to put infront of it.

I am really pleased with the way it turned out. The frame swings open and the posters are held in place with small 'earth' magnets that have one magnet behind the poster and the other imbeded into the frame.

I'm still going to get some lettering for the white spaces you see on the frame, I'm thinking, 'Coming Soon' or 'Now Playing'.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3378/p4221410small.jpg

Thanks for the response on your backlit poster box. It looks awesome! I started on my first one this weekend and hope to complete it today.

Is there another forum that everyone is talking on now? It seems like this one has just about died out.

This sub forum has its peaks and valley's but is still pretty busy. Maybe it is the nice weather that is starting to come around and people are getting outside more :)

Post some pictures up of your progress, or even start a new thread, pictures tend to get people talking.

Thanks roar. I'll keep reading and posting!

I actually made my first backlit poster box this past weekend with some minor changes from the ones here. It turned out great. I put heavy duty kitchen magnets recessed into the frame with the magnetic piece attached to the poster frame itself. This idea was from another plan that I found online somewhere. I cut notches into the box frame so the magnetic pieces would not cause the frame to be lifted off of the box. Worked great.....no light escapes around the edges of the frame. I'll post some pictures soon, but I want to try to make a few more using different methods to see which I like the most.

I do have some questions though:

1. Is it necessary for the diffuser panel to be the exact size of the poster frame opening? For example, on chinadog's box, the diffuser was ordered to be 27.125 x 40.125. Wouldn't the 27x40 cut be just as good? I wouldn't think that enough light would escape around the edges to distort the lighting effect.

2. This is the big one. If I use rope lights and a white plexiglass piece as a diffuser, will my poster fade over time? I have a DS movie poster that Clint Eastwood personally signed for me and I'd like to show it off, but I don't want to wash it out? Any suggestions or comments?

I think that's it for now.

Thanks again!

Thanks roar. I'll keep reading and posting!

I actually made my first backlit poster box this past weekend with some minor changes from the ones here. It turned out great. I put heavy duty kitchen magnets recessed into the frame with the magnetic piece attached to the poster frame itself. This idea was from another plan that I found online somewhere. I cut notches into the box frame so the magnetic pieces would not cause the frame to be lifted off of the box. Worked great.....no light escapes around the edges of the frame. I'll post some pictures soon, but I want to try to make a few more using different methods to see which I like the most.

I do have some questions though:

1. Is it necessary for the diffuser panel to be the exact size of the poster frame opening? For example, on chinadog's box, the diffuser was ordered to be 27.125 x 40.125. Wouldn't the 27x40 cut be just as good? I wouldn't think that enough light would escape around the edges to distort the lighting effect.

2. This is the big one. If I use rope lights and a white plexiglass piece as a diffuser, will my poster fade over time? I have a DS movie poster that Clint Eastwood personally signed for me and I'd like to show it off, but I don't want to wash it out? Any suggestions or comments?

I think that's it for now.

Thanks again!

Can't help you on point two, sorry, hopefully someone will read it and be able to chime in, someone who has been running rope lights for a little while.

For the first point, my light fixture is much longer then 40" but only about 23" wide... so I actually think my poster is a little darker on the sides, it could just be my eyes though, because with a small gap between the light fixture and the poster I think enough light makes it to the edge, it's not like it is dark-dark. I can see no harm at all in making your light source a fraction bigger then then the dimmension's of the poster, I'd rather go a little larger then a little smaller by accident :)

I do have some questions though:

1. Is it necessary for the diffuser panel to be the exact size of the poster frame opening? For example, on chinadog's box, the diffuser was ordered to be 27.125 x 40.125. Wouldn't the 27x40 cut be just as good? I wouldn't think that enough light would escape around the edges to distort the lighting effect.
The only reason I added the 1/8 is because they said the final product would be plus or minus 1/16" or and 1/8", depending on which you ordered. I didn't want to order 27 x 40 and end up with 26 7/8 x 39 7/8 and have light spillage. If they ended up too big, they wouldn't have fit in the poster frame though.


2. This is the big one. If I use rope lights and a white plexiglass piece as a diffuser, will my poster fade over time? I have a DS movie poster that Clint Eastwood personally signed for me and I'd like to show it off, but I don't want to wash it out? Any suggestions or comments?

I'm no expert, but I doubt it. Doesn't fading come more from UV like the sun? Also, keep in mind you'll likely only have the light on every so often an hour or two at a time.

Bud

I've been studying this thread for some time and am ready to build some lit frames [the wife is REALLY tired of the empty walls :-) ]. But, before I can start, I haven't resolved the most basic issue - the posters I'm going to use and their size. I need help here -

First, I have 4 posters from long ago that I bought in a mall. All older movies - Casablanca, Wonderful Life, etc. Is there a difference between a "wall poster" and a "movie poster", especially where the older movies are concerned? Paper weight, color richness, etc? I don't want to repurchase what ends up being identical to what I already have, but also don't want a really washed out effect if they are different.

Second, because these are older issues, the sizes are all over the place. What is a good material to mask the shorter/narrower posters? I'm going to follow Bud's "game box" design w/ 27x39 corporate frames and will probably have to trim or mask where needed.

Thanks -

First, I have 4 posters from long ago that I bought in a mall. All older movies - Casablanca, Wonderful Life, etc. Is there a difference between a "wall poster" and a "movie poster", especially where the older movies are concerned? Paper weight, color richness, etc? I don't want to repurchase what ends up being identical to what I already have, but also don't want a really washed out effect if they are different.

Thanks -

All the posters I bought for the light boxes have been double sided movie posters. These are specially printed to be illuminated from the rear. The printing is on the front and back of the poster.

So if the reproductions, that you bought, are double sides you will be OK. If they are not double sided movie posters they will looked washed out.

do you have plans on how you did your frame where it swings open from the side? I like that idea, but I am hitting some issues on how to swing it open without causing some issues.

Thanks!

do you have plans on how you did your frame where it swings open from the side? I like that idea, but I am hitting some issues on how to swing it open without causing some issues.

Thanks!

Not a lot of plans, just kind of made it up as I went :)

I installed the light fixture flush into the wall for starters. I then framed the fixture with 1x2's screwed directly into the wall. I did this because I wanted my poster to sit out from the wall a little because my light fixture was not a full 27 inches wide and I figured I needed some of the light to be able to disperse to the sides. Ideally you're light fixture I think would be 27" and you wouldn't need this additional framing, or at least it wouldn't need to be an inch deep. I was really trying to keep my poster box as flush to the wall as possible.

I used more 1x2's and routed out a channel in it and framed a piece of plexi glass. I attached the two frames together with about a 3' piano hinge and it opens to the right.

Since I am now left with a frame considerably larger then a 27"x40" movie poster I used some more 1x2's to make an inner frame and it is these 1x2's that have the strong 'earth' magnets imbedded in them. I just routed out a hole and glued them in. So this inner frame sits on one side of the frame, while you open the door and hang the poster on the other side of the frame with more magnets on the back of it and those magnets now keep the inner frame in place. This allows me the flexibility to put a little bigger, or smaller poster in the frame and all I need to do is build another inner frame with more matching magnets.

Let me know if you want some pictures if that didn't make sense :)

Be warned though, inside the frame is a little rough looking. My inner frame was leaking light from the front side. I racked my brain for a while trying to figure out how to block that light while still leaving the frame flexiable in the future if I wanted a different size poster. In the end I just ended up using black electrical tape. Did the job perfect, but doesn't look as finished from the inside, but no one knows its there besides me ;)

So what is the word on rope lighting? 30 or 50 foot lengths? Anyone do a hinged design yet?

30 feet should be plenty.

Bud

Hey Bud,

Did you change out your rope to LED? Is heat build up an issue with your boxes? I saw another post here that someone mentioned they swapped out their rope light with an LED based one due to the heat.