A duratrans is a print material used in some television news sets, theater designs as well as for retail backlit display printing applications such as bus stops, movie theatre signs, trade shows and by a wide variety of general retailers. Duratrans are also used to create the backgrounds that appear behind news presenters. Duratrans is short for Durable Transparency.
Duratrans is a brandname of Kodak. Very often used as a generic term for Backlit display prints for tradeshow and bus stop applications, and other retail applications. The generic term that for Movie and TV backdrops that are lit from behind is translites. Translites are normally from 15 to more than a hundred feet long and 12 -40 feet high. In most cases, translites are wider than they are tall. The translite image is printed or painted on a semi-transparent material such as polyester. This is then stretched perpendicular to the floor over an opening in the set’s wall designed for this purpose. This would typically be a door, a window, or a series of windows. Duratrans are always lit from behind using lights mounted perpendicular to the floor in the space between the set and studio wall, making the background well-lit and with the appearance of depth.
Translites are created by printing photographic images or computer rendered images onto the material using large-format printers. Many existing translites have been created by printing in a photographic darkroom by a mural enlarger projecting onto a wide strip of film. These pieces are assembled into the final size by seaming.
Duratrans is also the name of a common element used in tradeshow exhibits to display marketing material in a backlit format. The duratrans medium is manufactured by Kodak and is a comprised of a translucent plastic base and photographic emulsion. The current tradename from Kodak is Enduratrans.
The specific tradename for a background printed on Duratrans film by Pacific Studios, Inc. is Chromatrans. They printed these conventionally in the world’s largest darkroom until 2007. They now produce them by a laser imaging printer.
While the Duratrans term refers to a specific photographic process as well as to a product, it has also become a general reference to any backlit printed imagery whether produced photographically or by other digital process such as inkjet printing. Inkjet prints can be a way to save time and money, as the duratrans printing process is both time demanding and costly. However, expect to see a difference in the result. You can receive just as a good result from the inkjet process if the printer uses the right material
Some of the information above is taken from Wikipedia.
Photography and Printing 
November 1, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Great info! Thanks. I was wondering if you could talk about the inkjet angle to this. I am the proud owner of a Epson 7880 24″ inkjet printer and I want to use it to make some lightboxes. I have been looking at Epson’s clear film as a solution for utilizing the printer I already spent thousands on. What is your take on this?
April 4, 2009 at 12:12 am
Hi Christopher,
I am afraid I don’t know much about your specific printer, and buying a whole roll of transparent paper might be a little too pricey just to test one print. There are definitely inkjet printing companies who can make backlits that are just as good as duratrans, but your printer may be a bit weak – I don’t think Epson’s printers in general are good for this purpose. It all depends on how picky you are with the outcome.
Good luck!