Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) base films with high light transmittance have been used for the substrate of various functional films in the flat panel display. The effects of the reflective index of coated films, the roughness of the film surface and the content of inorganic silica particles on the light transmittance were studied in this article. Light transmittance was increased by coating a water soluble resin with a low reflective index at an optimum thickness. The roughness of the film did not affect light transmittance when the Ra of the film surface was less than a quarter of the wavelength of incident light. Inorganic silica particles decreased light transmittance due to their absorbance and scattering of the incident light.