never tried the black light approach -- not sure how much fluorescence would appear on the otherside of the transparency, especially since we were using a translucent shieet behind the transparency to diffuse the light from the light source. The backlit sheets as Johnny points out make for lighter black backgrounds. I suspect the only way to achieve the result would be to cut out a sheet of opaque laminate (ie black countertop material) with the areas to be backlit already precut and then place the applique over the top of it and a piece of non-reflective glass or plexi over the top of that. Which would cost far more than Potemkin can budget for it at this time.