Tattoo tracing light box for flats.

[K3ny0n]

Just wondering if anyone has any feedback or ideas on using a tattoo tracing light box for developing flats. Would it work or not?

Could be looking up the wrong tree for all I know but just getting it out there.

http://www.thetattooshop.co.uk/shop/ultra-thin-light-box.html - This is just one example so there are lots of other versions which are cheaper or more expensive. 

Let me know what you think.

Rob.

[Steve Ward]

I would guess that the light would not be even enough over the screen for flats , ELD's are what's needed .

[michaelmorris]

I've started experimenting with using a tablet computer as a flat screen (using a simple torch app).  You can pick a 10" screened Android tablet for less than £70

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/product_detail/14325/Archos-Arnova-10b-G3-10-1-1GHz-Processor-1GB-RAM-8GB-Storage-1080p-HD-Adroid-4-0-Tablet/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Capacitive-Allwinner-maximumly-Processor-Sandwich/dp/B00ABENWZA/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1381319212&sr=8-22&keywords=10inch+tablet+android

My initial results are promising.

[opticalpath]

Possible problems with the light box you describe are:

1. As Steve said, the arrangement of the LED bulbs in the box may not provide uniform illumination - the prime requirement for flats.

2. The box is very shallow so bulbs must be close to the diffuser screen, again making it likely that the light will be diffused unevenly, with some relatively hot spots.

3. LEDs can be a poor choice for illuminating your flats because they emit light in very narrow wavelength ranges.  'White' LEDs are usually a combination of two or more very narrow colour bands; they look white but in fact there are big gaps in the colour spectrum of the light they emit.  That might give you problems of insufficient illumination in one or more colour channels if you're using a colour camera or if taking separate R, G and B filtered flats with a mono camera.

Adrian