Photo by Daniel Tseng on Unsplash
Tucked near the magazine rack of nearly every 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart in Japan is a boxy, photocopier-sized machine that does far more than copy paper. These multi-copy machines (マルチコピー機, maruchi kopi-ki) let you print boarding passes, scan documents, buy concert and theme-park tickets, print vacation photos, and pay household bills — all with a touchscreen that usually offers an English option. For travelers who need to print a visa document at midnight or grab a same-day ticket to an event, these machines are one of Japan’s most useful pieces of everyday infrastructure, and almost nobody explains them to visitors. Here’s how they actually work.
What Exactly Is a Konbini Multi-Copy Machine?
Most machines are made by FUJIFILM Business Innovation (the former Fuji Xerox) and function as a combined photocopier, printer, scanner, and fax. The touchscreen interface has a few top-level menus: copy, print, scan, fax, and a separate “services” menu for tickets, government documents, and other content. You pay in cash (coins and bills) directly at the machine; some newer units also accept IC cards like Suica or Pasmo, but don’t count on credit cards working at every location. There’s no need to talk to staff — everything is self-service, though a clerk is usually nearby if the machine jams or you need coin change.
The three big chains — 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart — all run their own branded version of the service (7-Eleven’s is simply called “netprint,” Lawson and FamilyMart share a similar backend), but the hardware and basic flow are nearly identical across chains.
Printing Documents and Photos From Your Phone
There are two main ways to get something from your phone onto paper without a computer or printer at your hotel:
- Network print apps — Apps like 7-Eleven’s “かんたんnetprint” (Canon/Fuji’s networked print service) let you upload a PDF, Word doc, or photo from your phone before you even leave your hotel room. The app or website gives you an 8-digit reservation number, which you punch into the multi-copy machine’s touchscreen at any participating store to release the print job. Files typically stay reserved for about 24 hours.
- PrintSmash (direct Wi-Fi) — This free app skips the internet upload entirely. You connect your phone directly to the machine’s Wi-Fi Direct signal, select your photos or PDFs on the spot, and print immediately. It’s the better option if you don’t have mobile data or don’t want to upload anything to a third-party server.
Pricing is per sheet: A4 black-and-white copies or prints run around ¥10, while A4 color is roughly ¥50–¥80 depending on the chain. Photo prints (L-size, postcard-size) from your phone’s camera roll cost around ¥30–¥40 per print and come out on proper photo paper — a nice, cheap way to bring home a physical souvenir of your trip without hunting for a dedicated photo shop.
Buying and Printing Event Tickets
This is the feature most visitors never discover. Lawson in particular runs “Loppi,” a dedicated ticketing terminal physically separate from (but standing right next to) the copy machine, while FamilyMart’s equivalent is “Famiport.” Through these you can buy same-day or advance tickets to concerts, sports matches, anime events, and some museum or theme park time slots, often cheaper or earlier-releasing than third-party resale sites. The process is: browse or enter a code on the terminal, print a payment slip, take it to the register, pay in cash, and get a redeemable voucher or the ticket itself.
It’s also how many Japanese fans snag entry to limited pop-up shops and collaboration cafes. If your trip involves chasing a specific event — a baseball game, a idol concert, a seasonal festival — it’s worth checking whether Lawson Ticket or e+ (which syncs with these terminals) is selling for it before assuming you’re locked out.
The same machines are also handy for printing travel vouchers and reservation confirmations more generally — for example, a PDF ferry or activity booking like the one for the Mount Nokogiri ferry day trip can be printed here in minutes if a venue insists on a paper copy rather than a phone screen.
Paying Bills and Other Everyday Errands
Konbini have long served as informal bank branches for Japan — most utility bills, national health insurance premiums, and taxes arrive with a barcode that any register clerk can scan and accept cash for, no multi-copy machine required. Where the machine does come in is generating payment slips for things you bought online or via mail order (many smaller Japanese retailers still offer “konbini payment” as a checkout option), and for printing certain official documents: residents with a My Number card can issue copies of their resident certificate (住民票) or seal registration at these machines, though this applies to Japanese residents rather than short-term tourists.
For visitors, the practical takeaway is narrower but still useful: if an online Japanese retailer offers “konbini barcode payment” at checkout, you’re meant to take the printed or emailed barcode to any participating store’s register — not the multi-copy machine — and pay in cash within a set deadline, usually a few days.
Costs, Hours, and Where to Find One
Because 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart between them operate well over 50,000 stores nationwide, you’re rarely more than a few minutes’ walk from a multi-copy machine in any city or large town. Rural branches may close overnight, but the vast majority of urban and suburban locations run 24 hours, meaning you can print a boarding pass or last-minute hotel confirmation at 3am without issue.
- Budget: A single A4 black-and-white document — around ¥10. Fine for most travel paperwork.
- Mid-range: A handful of color prints or photo-paper prints — ¥150–¥400 for a small batch of vacation photos.
- Splurge: Same-day event tickets through Loppi/Famiport often carry a system usage fee (typically ¥100–¥200) on top of the ticket price, plus a small handling fee at pickup — worth it for access you otherwise couldn’t get.
If you’re killing a few minutes waiting for a print job or ticket confirmation to process, it’s also prime time to grab something from the hot case — a fresh katsu sando is a reliable choice at any of the major chains.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Printing in color by accident. The default setting on some machines is color, which is 5–8x the price of black-and-white for a simple text document. Double-check the setting before confirming.
- Letting a netprint reservation number expire. Most uploaded files are only held for about 24 hours; if you’re not printing same-day, re-upload closer to when you’ll actually visit the store.
- Assuming credit cards work. Carry coins and small bills — cash is still the safest bet at most machines, even in 2026.
- Uploading unsupported file types. Stick to PDF and standard JPEG for network printing; some office file formats won’t render correctly and can print with broken layouts.
- Printing travel documents that require a visa office’s exact formatting. If a specific government form must be printed on a particular paper size (A4 vs. Letter), set the paper size manually — Japanese printers default to A4, which isn’t always what overseas forms expect.
Once you’ve used one, a konbini multi-copy machine stops feeling like a novelty and starts feeling like an extension of your phone — cheap, fast, and available at nearly every corner, which is about as useful as travel infrastructure gets.