Lightbox

Lightbox may refer to:

Various backlit viewing devices:
- A container with several lightbulbs and a pane of frosted glass on the top. It is used by photography professionals viewing translucent films, such as slides. This device was originally used to sort photographic plates with ease. It is also used by visual artists for photo-referencing. When laid flat, it may be called a light table. Generally, a lightbox uses light similar to daylight (5,000–6,000 kelvins (K)), has uniform light strength on the glass pane, and has adequate light strength (in order to not strain the vision).
- A device similar to the photography lightbox, used for viewing x-rays.
- In the science field, lightboxes are often used for looking at bacterial growth and allow better visualization for PCR plates.
- A lighted display panel used for advertising purposes, especially for retailers. The panel can be illuminated by fluorescent light bulbs or LED lighting strips. The efficiency of Light boxes improved dramatically after the introduction of LED technology. These lighting source can be placed at the back or side of the panel. The user inserts a graphic, which can be changed easily. Some light boxes are designed especially for outdoor purposes so they are more weather and water proof and usually have a lock on their frontend to secure the images inside. One can see such light boxes easily in any retail shop or in a movie theatre.^[1]

Another use of the term "lightbox" is for the fabric reflectors that attach to studio lighting via a connector to create soft lighting by diffusing the strobe flash. They generally come in various rectangle shapes, although recently they are being manufactured in an octagon shape. Interior reflectors can be white, silver or gold to alter the temperature of light. Baffling inserts are also available.

A simple, unobtrusive overlay for presenting images on a web page, created using JavaScript.^[2]

A folder used on stock photography^[3]^[4] to allow a user to organize digital photos. Photos can be assigned to a viewable lightbox folder by subject, for later convenience, or used to compile unrelated photos for a specific project layout. Lightboxes also allow graphic designers to show clients options for a project in one simple uncluttered folder.
The card-reader near the door in a hotel room, used as the main electrics switch
A light fitting designed to alleviate the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder.

References

DSA Phototech - light box manufacturer in USA [1] - How do light boxes make a difference for a business
wikihow.com - Tutorial showing how to create your own Lightbox
Lightbox app for mobile and tablet devices - With an example of a Lightbox being used to view negatives.