3D photobooth recently opened in Tokyo

3D printing is up-and-coming recently, used in design and even for making parts for jet engines with the US army getting involved. Now this cutting-edge technology found its way in the leisure industry.

The Japanese company Omote3D is offering customers the chance to be full-body scanned and given a plastic figurine of themselves, reports The Guardian. The 3D photo booth will open in the Eye of Gyre exhibition space in the Harujuku district and will be available until the 14th of January, 2013. The mini-me figures start at €208 (£160) for a 10cm version, rising to €415 (£320) for the 20cm model.

The project is the brainchild of branding agency Party. "The photo studio is a very special place for Japanese families to shape their memories," says Party creative director Naoki Ito.

Visitors will have to pose for around fifteen minutes whilst a member of staff uses a manual scanner to record a full-body image. During this process the subject must stay completely still, in the manner of early portrait photography – no doubt resulting in similarly rigid poses and fixed stares. The scanner cannot yet detect small accessories such as earrings, glasses or bags. The 3D image is then modified and personalised on a computer before being sent to a 3D printer.

But Tokyo is not the only city getting stuck into the print-yourself craze. This week, the MakerBot store opened in New York, offering you the chance to print your own head for the bargain price of $25. More pixelated than Omote3D's offerings, the heads are constructed from monochrome plastic filament in a choice of lurid colours.

"Ever since we started, people kept saying that this is science fiction – it's not real. So we had to make a MakerBot store," says Bre Pettis, MakerBot CEO. "This is beyond digital photography – it is the future – and to be able to create a 3D image of yourself is just amazing."

The manufacturer also sells the $2,200 MakerBot Replicator 2, so you can print off as many of your own heads as you like, in the comfort of your own home.