Although it might have been nice to have an on-board battery that can take a charge for an hour or two, it's not a big deal for most household and office settings to find a usb port to power this. Once you figure out your brightness level, (1 of 3 fixed options) be sure to keep your fingers away from the power switch because it's very sensitive in that regard. The supplied usb cable is more than adequate and it was nice to receive some complimentary tracing paper as a courtesy. But the biggest question everyone should be asking is: Does it work? As you can see in the two photos here, the highest setting can shine through a bumper sticker with good overall color and shape definition through regular paper and even watercolor paper, although it struggles slightly with the heavier stock. It works best when there's low surrounding light but you don't have to be in complete darkness by any stretch of the imagination. Cleans easily. The overall build feels right for semi-pro and amateur work, professional artists may have some reason for something in a higher price class for thousands of hours of animation or something. But as an occasional utility and using shapes with clear outlines, this is easy to work with. Clock in between $15-19 it's a reasonable, lightweight option good for travel.

This light pad was intended for lighting up my vinyl that had been cut on my silhouette craft cutter. I had seen this tip to use a lighted tracing pad from my craft Facebook groups. The OEM name brand version for a light pad used for vinyl weeding was levied at $70 at the nationwide craft store.
This version was a fraction of that price so price was the main factor for selecting this light pad.
The pad is very lightweight and the power only requires a micro usb 5v low amps which can be powered by a USB port from laptop, power bank, or wall plug. My only improvement request is the brightness and grid. When turned to full brightness is caused a black shadow grid from the middle layer of the pad. This creates dark spots that make it hard to see the razor blade cut lines into my vinyl. I have to move the vinyl around which causes additional work and frustration.
I also purchased a light pad zippered carry case since my iPad case was too small and didn't have the soft furry inside to prevent scratches to the light pad during travel or storage.

This is the best thing I ever bought for myself to use in my diamond art. I love it.

I do tattoo design and have been stenciling by hand, (its how I prefer to work, and I don't have a thermal imaging printer) and I often have taped/clipped designs to computer screens, windows, etc to get tracing perfect. It reaks havoc on my neck, shoulders and back. This lightboard is a GAME-CHANGER!

I was somehow expecting something bigger and was small by how small and light-weight it was, in fact when the package came I was afraid there was nothing inside! LOL In any case, it is very simple and comfortable to work from and provide excellent light at three very different levels of brightness. The 'dots' on the board can seem off-putting, but once you begin you quickly 'stop noticing' them. And for the price, this is a still and I have been recommending it to others, too!

My two tiny complaints are: 1) It does not charge and has no battery, which prevents it from being as portable as I would like. 2) I wish there were a locking function on the power button. It is easily tapped by accident, while working on the surface of the board. It's a small thing, but it's annoying - especially if you're not working off the first setting because then you have to turn it on and find your setting again.
Just a couple of thoughts to consider going forward and/or with future designs. Otherwise, GREAT product! Thanks.

This is a great tracing LED light pad - it's so light and thin you can't actually call it a box - that is remarkably easy to hold and carry around. I bought it to use for cel animation, and have taped an animation peg bar to it so that it holds standard 8 ½ x 11, 10F (10 frame) animation paper, which fits very well with a small margin on the top, bottom, and sides. It's great because I have both Acme and round peg bars, so I can use either type of paper, and it's so lightweight that it's easy to turn around when I need to. It also works well as a light surface for tracing.

It has a long (almost 7 feet) power cable that is lightweight, flexible, and well made, that plugs securely and unobtrusively into the tracing pad and any USB power source. I've used it with laptop and desktop computers, a standard USB wall plug, and a portable rechargeable power supply. When it is plugged in, two soft blue LEDs on the side of the pad glow to show it's powered, which is a thoughtful touch. I generally don't like the bright LEDs that are included with electronic devices, but these are not excessively bright and are really well placed - you don't see them directly when you're working on the top surface, only when you look from the side or back. The main surface LED lights give a bright neutral light that is distributed evenly across the entire surface by a thin diffuser layer underneath the drawing surface.

The surface itself, although it is very lightweight, is wonderfully smooth - it really feels like unbreakable glass without the weight and is a pleasure to draw on. A touch sensitive button in one corner controls the LED brightness, and is flush with the top surface. You touch or tap it to turn the lights on/off and cycle through the three brightness levels. The brightest level is quite bright - you can trace through heavy weight drawing paper and I have even used the surface as a close-range soft light for macro photography with my phone and DSLR. The darkest light level is bright enough to draw or trace from one sheet of opaque animation paper onto another or for several layers of onion skin/tracing paper. It's restful and I've comfortably drawn for hours with it. The middle brightness setting is halfway between those two. The lighted drawing area is 9" x 12" with a 1 1/2" opaque black strip along the side that you can use to hold the pad. That strip has the on/off brightness touchpad, which is easy to access while you're working.

The pad came very well packaged, wrapped in a padded foam bag with four foam corners that hold it off the surface of a very sturdy reusable box. The packaging is so sturdy and convenient that I'm using it to store the pad and carry it around. I can fit 100 sheets of animation paper, a couple of pencils, and an eraser in the box with the pad and cable "“ it's great.

While I was searching for light pads, I was concerned that this one might not be well made because it was one of the least expensive ones, but the construction of this light pad is completely solid and the design is simply brilliant. I'm very glad I purchased this from Ticktech - they have one of the lowest prices for this tracing pad and their support is amazing - very friendly and thoughtful. Much to my surprise, after I had received the pad and was already thinking this was a great purchase, without my contacting them they followed up to make sure everything was okay and extended the warranty for free.

This has been one of the best purchases I've made and the entire experience has been great from start to finish. (Incidentally, this review is only motivated by the fact that I really love this tracing pad - I am an actual purchaser and paid full price for it.) Thanks to Ticktech for this excellent light pad "“ it's a great addition to my studio!