Purikura: the Japanese trend transforming the modern photo booth experience
If you’ve ever come across those adorable Japanese photo strips filled with sparkly eyes, flawless skin, hearts, rainbows, cute stickers, and playful frames, you’ve seen purikura in action. This style started in Japan in the 1990s and quickly became a favorite way for friends to capture fun moments and turn them into personalized keepsakes.
People would pile into a booth, strike silly poses, and then spend time decorating their photos with all kinds of effects — beauty filters, big eyes, glitter, animal ears, themed backgrounds… the more creative, the better. The end result was a sheet of tiny stickers perfect for decorating phones, notebooks, or just sharing with friends.
At Digital Centre, specialists in digital experencial solutions, this influence comes to life through creative technologies like the Panther and the Smile N Stick photo booth — two solutions designed to captivate, engage, and leave a lasting impression, bringing the authentic spirit of purikura into today’s events, activations, and venues.
How Digital Centre Is Bringing Purikura to Life
Since 1997, Digital Centre has focused on creating interactive digital experiences for events, retail environments, corporate activations, and trade shows, always combining technology with real human connection. During a trip to Japan, the founder discovered purikura photo booths and were inspired by their creativity, customization, and playful nature.
This inspiration became a key part of Digital Centre’s vision: transforming photo booths into engaging experiences rather than simple photo machines. By integrating the best elements of purikura into modern photo booth solutions, Digital Centre continues to help brands and events create meaningful, memorable moments around the world.
Panther & Smile N Stick photo booths: Two Ways to Experience Purikura Magic
If you’re craving the closest thing to the original purikura sticker tradition, our Smile N Stick photo booth is the perfect choice. This compact, modern machine turns memorable snaps into high-quality adhesive stickers in seconds—just like the classic Japanese print clubs.
Guests snap their photos, edit with custom frames, or even logos, and walk away with sticky keepsakes that actually last. It features augmented reality elements, automatic face detection for fun props, multiple payment options (cash, cards, tokens, or smartphone taps), and built-in advertising capabilities that make it a smart revenue generator—ideal for venues, events, game rooms, or high-traffic locations. The Smile N Stick truly brings the “memories that stick” idea to life, blending purikura’s playful sticker focus with professional reliability.
And if you prefer photos in the classic strip or collage format, the Panther photo booth is another standout option. This sleek, elegant, and powerful photo booth perfectly captures the fun and endless customization of purikura while delivering a premium, professional-grade experience suitable for any event or venue. With the Panther, users enjoy a smooth and intuitive experience: they can pose and edit in real time thanks to its user-friendly touchscreen, apply custom filters and branded frames, capture photos or short videos, print instantly or send directly to their phones, and share everything to social media in just seconds.
A Smart Choice for Today’s Events and Brands
Adding purikura-inspired features — whether through the versatile Panther or the dedicated sticker magic of Smile N Stick — isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a strategic decision. These interactive, personalized moments encourage longer engagement, spark organic social sharing, and turn guests into authentic brand ambassadors.
Ready to Bring This Creative Energy to Your Next Venue?
Purikura began as a joyful Japanese photo booth tradition, but today it’s a global trend about creativity, connection, and memorable experiences. Through solutions like the Panther and Smile N Stick, Digital Centre is helping bring that same magic into modern, professional settings — creating moments that feel fun, personal, and perfectly shareable.
We’d love to help you create an experience people will talk about and post about.
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