What is トレースボード Ａ５サイズ?
Meet your new desk companion for analog creativity. Daiso's Trace Board A5 Size is a slim, backlit LED light pad designed to let you trace illustrations, check film negatives, or add a soft glow to your workspace — all for just ¥550 (roughly $3.70). Yes, really.
The board itself measures 23.9 cm × 15 cm × 0.35 cm, landing right at A5 format — think roughly the size of a small notebook. Despite that compact footprint, it weighs in at approximately 140 g, making it feather-light and genuinely portable. The surface is smooth acrylic, while the body is reinforced with PVC for durability without adding bulk. The whole unit is just 3.5 mm thick — that's thinner than most smartphones.
Power comes via an included 152 cm micro-USB cable, so you can plug it into a laptop, USB wall adapter, or portable power bank. The package also includes an instruction manual. One important caveat: there's no built-in battery, so you'll always need a power source nearby. There's also no adjustable tilt — the board lies flat — so if you prefer an angled surface, you'll want to prop it up on a book or stand. Minor limitations for a product at this price point, but worth knowing before you buy.
Source: daisonet.com
How to Use It — Hack Ideas
Primary Use — Illustration Tracing: The workflow is dead simple. Place your reference image face-up on the board, lay a sheet of white paper on top, switch on the light, and trace away. The even LED backlighting pushes your reference image through the paper cleanly, giving you crisp, accurate lines. Great for artists learning proportions, calligraphy students copying letterforms, or crafters transferring designs onto fabric.
Hack #1 — DIY Hand-Lettered Logo Design: Print out a clean typeface at your desired size, trace it by hand onto paper, then scan or photograph the result. Import into Illustrator, run Image Trace, and you've got a custom hand-drawn logo with the structural accuracy of a real font. Designers on a budget, take note — this is a legitimate production technique, not just a party trick.
Hack #2 — Flatlay Photography Light Panel: Struggling with harsh shadows when shooting small products for Instagram or an online shop? Lay the Trace Board flat under or beside your subject as a diffused fill light. Its wide, even glow eliminates hotspots beautifully on jewelry, stationery, and food styling shots. Pair it with a simple phone stand and you've got a mini studio setup that costs a fraction of professional gear.
Bonus Hack — Straight-Line Writing Guide: Place ruled paper underneath a blank sheet and use the backlight to see the lines through. Perfect for writing neat correspondence, journaling without a lined notebook, or keeping handwritten addresses on envelopes perfectly level.
Reviews & Verdict
User sentiment around this product is overwhelmingly positive, with most reviewers landing on the same conclusion: the value-to-performance ratio is almost absurdly good. The even LED illumination gets consistent praise, and the paper-thin profile makes it easy to stash in a bag or drawer without a second thought.
That said, honest reviewers highlight a few recurring caveats. The A5 size is the single biggest limitation — anything larger than a standard postcard-sized illustration will require cropping or repositioning. If your workflow involves A4 reference sheets, you may find yourself frustrated. The lack of a tilt function is also noted frequently; casual users won't miss it, but serious illustrators who prefer a 30-degree drawing angle will need a DIY stand solution.
The micro-USB dependency is worth flagging too. In a world moving toward USB-C, having a micro-USB cable means one more legacy cable to track down — though the included 152 cm cable is generously long. Battery-free operation is a deliberate tradeoff: it keeps the board thin and the price low, but limits use to powered environments.
Bottom line: for hobbyists, students, crafters, and content creators who need an occasional light pad without committing to a ¥3,000–¥8,000 specialist tool, this is a no-brainer purchase. Power users who need A3 coverage or precise dimming controls should look elsewhere — but they probably already knew that.
Value Score: 84/100
A near-perfect score for price-to-quality — the even LED surface and ultra-slim build punch well above the ¥550 price tag. The A5 size and lack of tilt adjustment hold it back just slightly from gem status, but for creative hobbyists and casual crafters, this is great value, worth every yen.
