Glow paper or glow board: which suits your project?
Glow paper is made for designs you print. Glow boards are made for pictures you draw with UV light and that fade again afterwards. Both store light and glow green in the dark, entirely without electricity. The table shows the main differences.
| Feature | Glow paper | Glow board |
|---|---|---|
| How you create | print with an inkjet or laser printer | draw, sketch or write with a UV torch |
| What glows | the unprinted areas | the areas you light up |
| Afterglow duration* | up to 4 hours | approx. 1–2 hours, then the picture has faded |
| Formats | DIN A4 and DIN A3 | DIN A4 and DIN A5 |
| Material | coated paper, 80–350 g/m² depending on type | sturdy plastic board, approx. 2 mm thick |
| Reuse | the print stays, the paper recharges as often as you like | can be drawn on again and again |
*after a full charge, in complete darkness; strongest in the first few minutes.
How does the afterglow work?
Glow-in-the-dark materials absorb light and release it slowly in the dark. The technical term for this afterglow is phosphorescence. It is strongest in the first few minutes and then gradually fades. It is only visible in real darkness. It is an orientation and effect aid, not lighting. Our page Afterglow explained covers the basics.
Paper and board differ in how you charge them: you charge glow paper across its whole surface with sunlight or lamplight, as often as you like. With the glow board, you use the UV torch to charge only the spots that should glow. That is how your picture appears.
Glow paper: print designs that glow in the dark
You print glow paper in your own printer – but only in the printer type it is made for. There is one type for inkjet printers and one for laser printers. They are not interchangeable: ink does not dry on the sealed surface of the laser paper and smudges.
- For inkjet printers: 350 g/m², approx. 0.4 mm thick and as sturdy as card; 5 sheets DIN A4 or 2 sheets DIN A3.
- For laser printers: 2 sheets DIN A4 at 80 g/m², also for copiers, or 2 sheets DIN A3, glossy, at 150 g/m². The toner fixes instantly.
The A3 format suits posters, signs and large designs. Your printer must be able to feed this format, though.
Important for your design: printed areas do not glow. In the dark, your print appears as a dark cut-out. Designs with plenty of empty space, such as lettering or outlines, therefore stand out most clearly. Printer settings and step-by-step instructions are under Glow paper.
Glow boards: drawing with light
On a glow board you draw with focused UV light instead of paint. The areas you light up glow green. The longer the light stays on one spot, the brighter it glows. After approx. 1–2 hours the picture has faded and the board is ready for the next design.
A UV torch is not included. A normal white torch charges the board only very inefficiently. More under Glow boards. We show our former glow drawing sets with lamp on the page Things we used to make.
What are glow paper and glow boards used for?
Glow paper suits anything that should be recognisable in a dark room. The glow board suits pictures and messages that last for a while.
- Invitations, cards and craft projects made from glow paper
- Orientation signs on stairs, doors or light switches
- Lettering, labels and signs
- Wall designs, model making, handicrafts and resin art
- Drawings, lettering and light pictures on the glow board that gradually fade
Good to know
- The longer and brighter the light the paper receives beforehand, the longer it glows.
- The A4 laser paper is intended for indoor use. It has not been tested for escape and rescue route plans that must glow to a standard.
- If a glow board lies in a bright room, it charges across its whole surface and glows as a whole. So work in the dark when drawing.
- Glow boards are craft and art supplies, not a toy. Never shine UV light into the eyes.
More glow-in-the-dark materials
For self-adhesive surfaces there is glow film in DIN A4 format. If you would rather work with a brush than a printer, you will find ready-mixed glow in the dark paint.