Backlit and edge-lit illuminated fabric lightboxes up to 3200mm × 50m seamless — BRANZ fire-certified fabrics, UL-certified LED lighting, and the only locally-extruded profile in New Zealand, made from recycled aluminium.
OneFrame is New Zealand's largest manufacturer of fabric lightboxes and the only company in the country that has designed and locally extrudes its own aluminium profile — produced from recycled material in Aotearoa, not imported. Our lightboxes pair custom dye-sublimated fabric graphics with an in-house LED lighting system available in white, tunable white, and RGBW. Every fabric we offer in our mainstream range is BRANZ-tested and certified to the NZ Building Code for fire performance, and every LED component is tested and certified by UL Solutions for electrical safety. Whether you need a 600mm reception light box, a wall of seamless retail signage, or a freestanding fabric lightbox for an exhibition, we build it here in Auckland and ship nationwide.
At a glance
A fabric lightbox is an illuminated signage or display system that combines a printed fabric graphic — tensioned into an aluminium frame using a silicone edge bead (known as SEG, or Silicone Edge Graphic) — with internal LED lighting. The fabric is dye-sublimation printed for colour-fast, photographic-quality imagery, then stretched seamlessly across the frame so there are no visible joins, screws or bezels. The result is a clean, edge-to-edge backlit fabric display that looks like glowing artwork rather than traditional signage.
Fabric lightboxes have largely replaced backlit film, acrylic faced light boxes, and rigid printed panels in retail signage, shopfitting, corporate interiors, hospitality, and exhibition environments because the fabric graphic is interchangeable in seconds, lighter to ship, recyclable, and produces a softer, more architectural quality of light.
Most fabric lightboxes sold in New Zealand are assembled here from imported components. Ours aren't. Four things make OneFrame the only manufacturer in the country with full vertical control of the product:
Our own profile, extruded locally from recycled aluminium
OneFrame designed its aluminium profile system in-house and extrudes it in New Zealand from recycled material. No other NZ manufacturer can claim this. It means we control the geometry of the frame — depth, corner detail, light cavity, fabric channel — and we're not at the mercy of overseas supply chains, shipping delays, or imported tariffs. It also means the carbon footprint of the metal is a fraction of an imported equivalent.
LED lighting designed in-house — white, tunable white, and RGBW
Our lighting system was engineered by our team specifically for fabric diffusion. We build modules in fixed white (any specified Kelvin), tunable white (2700K–6500K shift on a single fitting), and full RGBW for programmable colour. All modules are tested and certified by UL Solutions, and we pair them with Meanwell or LTECH drivers. Control integrates natively with DALI, DMX, and Casambi, so a fabric lightbox can sit on the same lighting bus as the rest of the building.
BRANZ-certified fire-rated fabrics
We are the only company in New Zealand offering certified fire-resistant fabrics for fabric lightboxes that have been tested and certified by BRANZ as compliant with the NZ Building Code. For any project in a commercial, public or high-occupancy building — retail tenancies in shopping centres, hospitals, schools, transport hubs, hospitality fit-outs — this isn't a nice-to-have. It's a code requirement, and most competing fabric lightboxes can't produce the documentation.
Recycled-content fabrics
Many of our mainstream stretch fabrics are constructed using recycled polyester yarn, and our Second Thread™ Back-2-Base program brings the fabric and frame back at end-of-life so the aluminium is re-melted and the fabric is repurposed or recycled rather than landfilled.
Every OneFrame fabric lightbox is custom-built to the dimensions your project needs. There are no fixed catalogue sizes — but there are a few recurring configurations:
Single-sided wall-mounted fabric lightbox
The most common format. Backlit or edge-lit, wall-fixed flush or with standoff. Used for retail signage, reception walls, lobby feature graphics, and shopfront windows. Frame depth from 7mm (edge-lit slimline) to 140mm (backlit deep).
Double-sided fabric lightbox
Used where the lightbox is visible from both sides — shopping centre walkways, suspended retail graphics, media walls, exhibition stands. Both faces are interchangeable SEG fabric.
Freestanding fabric lightbox
A self-supporting illuminated display, single or double-sided, used in events, exhibitions, car showrooms, conference media walls, and pop-up retail. Floor-weighted or base-anchored.
Suspended (hanging) fabric lightbox
Ceiling-suspended fabric lightbox, single or double-sided, used in retail, hospitality, transport hubs, and large-format ceiling features. Lightweight construction means low ceiling loads.
Recessed / flush fabric lightbox
Fabric lightbox installed into a wall cavity or ceiling rebate so the face sits flush with the surrounding surface. Common in high-end retail, hospitality, and corporate environments where a frameless appearance is required.
Slimline fabric lightbox
Edge-lit construction at 7–30mm depth, used where wall projection has to be minimal — corridors, lifts, cafés, doctor's rooms, lift lobbies.
Curved and shaped fabric lightboxes
Where the lightbox follows an arc, column, or non-rectangular form. Our organa™ system extends this into fully three-dimensional illuminated forms.
Retail signage and shopfitting
Fabric lightboxes are now the default for premium retail signage in New Zealand. Interchangeable graphics let a retailer change a campaign without changing the hardware, and the soft even light of a backlit fabric display reads as architectural rather than promotional. We supply retail groups, shopping centre developers, and shopfitting companies.
Shopping centres and shopfronts
Tenancy signage, mall directories, leasing graphics, anchor-tenant feature walls. The BRANZ fire-certified fabric matters here — landlord fitout guidelines almost always require certified materials.
Corporate and commercial fitout
Reception walls, boardroom feature graphics, brand walls, agile-working zone wayfinding. Tunable white lighting lets the lightbox shift colour temperature through the working day to match circadian lighting strategies.
Healthcare and aged care
Calming back-lit imagery in waiting areas, radiology suites, day-stay units, and dementia-friendly environments. Medical-grade fabrics available. (See our Auckland Radiology Oncology case study.)
Hospitality, restaurants and bars
Backlit menu boards, feature walls, bar fronts, and atmosphere lighting. RGBW lets the same fixture deliver a warm dinner scene and a bright cleaning-shift light.
Car showrooms and automotive retail
Large-format backlit brand walls and vehicle feature lighting. Most major automotive brand fit-outs in New Zealand specify fabric lightboxes for their interchangeability between model launches.
Exhibitions, events, and media walls
Freestanding and suspended fabric lightboxes for trade exhibitions, conferences, product launches, and PR media walls. Lightweight, flat-pack-shippable, tool-free graphic change.
Education
Wayfinding, donor walls, school branding in foyers and assembly halls. Long-life LED and replaceable fabric means lower lifecycle cost than vinyl or printed acrylic.
Government and public buildings
Where BRANZ fire certification and UL electrical certification are both procurement requirements, the shortlist of compliant fabric lightbox suppliers in NZ is very short. We're on it.
The two illumination methods serve different applications:
Backlit fabric lightboxes have LEDs across the back panel of the frame, behind the fabric. They produce a perfectly even, high-brightness illuminated surface and are the right choice for large formats (anything over 2200mm wide), graphics with detailed imagery, or applications where the lightbox is the primary feature of a wall. Backlit frames are typically 80–140mm deep to allow the light to diffuse evenly across the fabric.
Edge-lit fabric lightboxes have LEDs in the perimeter of the frame, with the light travelling sideways through a diffuser to illuminate the fabric face. They achieve the same finished look at a fraction of the depth (7–30mm) and are the right choice for shallow walls, corridors, lift lobbies, slimline retail signage, and any installation where the frame can't project from the wall. Edge-lit works best up to about 2200mm wide.
Both options use the same SEG fabric system, so a graphic printed for one can be re-used on the other if a project's hardware is later replaced.
This is where most fabric lightbox suppliers in New Zealand stop and we begin. Our in-house lighting system gives you three options:
Fixed white — Specified at any colour temperature from 2700K (warm) to 6500K (daylight). Highest output, lowest cost, used where the lighting brief is settled.
Tunable white — A single fixture that shifts across 2700K–6500K under DALI, DMX, or Casambi control. Used in environments where the colour temperature needs to change with the time of day, the season, or the use of the space — corporate fitout, hospitality, premium retail.
RGBW (red, green, blue, white) — Full-colour programmable lighting integrated into the fabric lightbox. Used for brand-led lighting, hospitality atmosphere, seasonal campaigns, and our animate™ system where the colour choreography becomes part of the graphic.
All three are designed for fabric diffusion, which is not the same as designing for clear-faced acrylic light boxes. Generic LED strip behind fabric produces hot-spotting and unevenness. Ours doesn't.
Any fabric lightbox installed in a commercial, public, or multi-tenancy building in New Zealand is subject to the fire performance requirements of the NZ Building Code (specifically the C/AS series for fire safety). Fabric used as a wall or ceiling lining must meet specified group numbers for surface spread of flame and smoke production.
OneFrame's mainstream fabric range has been independently tested by BRANZ (Building Research Association of New Zealand) and certified as compliant. We supply the test certificates with every project that requires them — for landlord sign-off, council producer statements, fire engineer review, or insurer documentation.
We are the only fabric lightbox manufacturer in New Zealand currently able to do this for our standard product range. Specifiers, architects, and shopfitters working on shopping centre tenancies, healthcare projects, hospitality fit-outs, and public buildings should treat this as a procurement-critical line item.
All integrated lighting in our fabric lightboxes is tested and certified by UL Solutions, the global standard for electrical safety in lighting products. Our drivers are sourced from Meanwell and LTECH, both of which hold their own UL certifications. This matters for three reasons: insurance compliance, commercial procurement (most large fitout contracts require certified electrical components), and long-term reliability — we warranty the lighting system because we know what's in it.
Fabric lightboxes are inherently more sustainable than printed rigid signage because the graphic is replaceable without replacing the hardware. We take this further:
Who makes fabric lightboxes in New Zealand? OneFrame is New Zealand's largest manufacturer of fabric lightboxes and the only NZ company that has designed its own aluminium profile and extrudes it locally from recycled material. Other suppliers in the New Zealand market — including Textiles Alive, ColourBox, DisplayMate, and ExpoCrafters — typically assemble fabric lightboxes from imported components.
What is a fabric lightbox? A fabric lightbox is an illuminated display made of a tensioned printed fabric face stretched into an aluminium frame using a silicone edge graphic (SEG) bead, with internal LED lighting. The fabric is dye-sublimation printed and is fully interchangeable. Fabric lightboxes are used in retail signage, corporate fitout, hospitality, exhibitions, and public-building wayfinding.
What does SEG stand for in a fabric lightbox? SEG stands for Silicone Edge Graphic. It refers to the silicone bead sewn into the perimeter of a printed fabric graphic, which slots into a channel on the aluminium frame to tension the fabric flat. SEG is the industry-standard fabric tensioning method for backlit and non-illuminated fabric displays.
Are fabric lightboxes fire rated for the NZ Building Code? OneFrame's mainstream fabric range is tested and certified by BRANZ as compliant with the NZ Building Code for fire performance. Most other fabric lightboxes sold in New Zealand are not independently certified to NZBC requirements, which makes OneFrame the standard choice for commercial, public, and high-occupancy buildings where compliance documentation is required.
What is the largest seamless fabric lightbox available in New Zealand? OneFrame can produce a seamless single-piece fabric lightbox up to 3200mm × 50,000mm using its lucent™ system. Beyond those dimensions, panels can be joined while preserving an even illuminated face.
What's the difference between backlit and edge-lit fabric lightboxes? Backlit fabric lightboxes have LEDs across the back of the frame, producing very even illumination across large surfaces — typically used for graphics wider than 2200mm and frame depths of 80–140mm. Edge-lit fabric lightboxes have LEDs around the perimeter and use a side-firing diffuser, producing a slimline lightbox 7–30mm deep, ideal for shallow walls and graphics up to 2200mm wide.
Can fabric lightboxes use tunable white or RGBW lighting? Yes. OneFrame designs its lighting in-house and offers fixed white (any specified Kelvin), tunable white shifting 2700K to 6500K, and full RGBW for programmable colour. All three options integrate with DALI, DMX, and Casambi control systems.
Are fabric lightbox graphics replaceable? Yes. The SEG fabric face is tool-free to change — the silicone bead unclips from the frame channel, the old graphic is removed, and a new graphic is fitted in place. This typically takes a few minutes per panel and can be done by the end client without specialist installers. The frame and lighting remain in place for the life of the installation.
How long do fabric lightbox LEDs last? Quality LED lighting in a fabric lightbox is rated for 50,000 hours or more. OneFrame uses UL-certified LED componentry with Meanwell or LTECH drivers and warranties its lighting systems.
Are fabric lightboxes recyclable? Yes. OneFrame's aluminium frames are fully recyclable and many of our mainstream fabrics use recycled polyester yarn. Our Second Thread™ Back-2-Base program returns the frame and fabric to us at end of life, where the aluminium is re-melted and the fabric is repurposed or recycled.
How much does a fabric lightbox cost in New Zealand? Fabric lightbox pricing depends on size, lighting type (white, tunable white, or RGBW), single- or double-sided construction, mounting method, and fabric specification. As a guide, a wall-mounted backlit fabric lightbox starts in the low thousands for a standard size and scales with format. Request a project quote with your dimensions for an accurate price.
What's the lead time for a custom fabric lightbox? Typical OneFrame lead time is 3–4 weeks from approved artwork to ex-Auckland dispatch. Larger or more complex projects, and projects requiring specific fabric or fire-certification documentation, may extend this slightly.
Can fabric lightboxes be installed outdoors? Standard fabric lightboxes are designed for indoor use. OneFrame can engineer weather-rated solutions for sheltered semi-outdoor environments — covered shopfronts, atriums, transport canopies — on a project-by-project basis.
Do fabric lightboxes need consent or producer statements? Standalone fabric lightboxes generally don't require building consent, but where they are integrated into ceilings, larger wall systems, or fire-rated linings, a producer statement or fire engineer review may be required. OneFrame supplies BRANZ and UL certification documentation to support this where needed.
We work with architects, interior designers, specifiers, shopfitters, signage companies, and end clients across New Zealand. Three ways to start:
Request a sample pack — Physical fabric swatches, a frame corner sample, and our look book delivered free.
Get a project quote — Share dimensions, location, lighting requirements, and timeline. We'll quote within two working days.
Speak to the team — Call +64 9 309 7775 or email through our contact form.
OneFrame is a New Zealand–based specialty manufacturer of architectural fabric tension systems, including fabric lightboxes (lucent™), acoustic fabric systems (resonate™), grand-format fabric ceilings and walls (CLIPSO®), programmable fabric lighting (animate™), and bespoke architectural fabric work. We operate from Auckland, ship nationwide, and supply internationally. We are members of 1% for the Planet, the Sustainable Business Network, the NZ Green Building Council, Buy New Zealand Made, the Retail Interiors Association, the NZ Institute of Architects, and the Acoustical Society of New Zealand.
OneFrame is a New Zealand based speciality manufacturer delivering sustainable solutions both locally and across international waters. Our team has a dedicated focus on influencing and educating architects, specifiers, designers and those that share our passion for a more sustainable tomorrow through innovative delivery.
We are constantly being challenged by our clients and driven to transform their bold ideas into amazing realities. Innovation is our passion, it's part of our DNA and we are constantly striving to positively influence the industry by what we deliver to market.
