Artec Helps Create Customers at Conceptual Japanese Pop-Up Store

3D scanning and 3D printing are innovative technologies that complement each other and both were used in a project by Party, Inc. -- "Omote 3D Shashin Kan." The Artec MHT scanner allowed Party, a "creative lab" based in Tokyo and New York, to realize their idea of a pop-up photo booth. The photo booth was open for two months in “Eye of Gyre” Gallery in Tokyo, and produced 3D printed human miniatures. The miniatures, a “mini me” version of oneself, were made through a combination of Artec 3D scanning and 3D printing technologies.

Customers stood still while staff scanned their entire bodies with the Artec MHT scanner. The miniature figures were then printed in color on a 3D printer. The personal miniatures were available in different sizes from 10 to 20 cm tall and cost 21,000 to 42,000 yen.

'The idea came from the point where we started to think about what we could do using 3D scanners and 3D printers together,' says PARTY founder Masashi Kawamura, who was recently included in Fast Company's ranking of the '100 Most Creative People in Business'. Kawamura had a specific goal in mind. 'In Japan the Shichi-Go-San festival celebrates the healthy growth of children at three, five and seven years old. Children dress up in kimonos and families take commemorative pictures. We thought that by using modern-day technology we could literary add a new dimension by creating a new form of memorabilia.'

At the moment this project is over, but Party Inc. will be launching new projects soon.