Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd. and Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. will start installing a new multi-use copy machine capable of printing digital photos in Seven-Eleven Japan stores from November 2004. All Seven-Eleven stores^{Note 1} (10,559 as of August 31, 2004) across Japan will be equipped with the new machines by the end of April 2005.

The new machines are the latest full-color multifunction devices to be manufactured by Fuji Xerox, while the control panel was developed jointly by Seven-Eleven Japan and Fuji Xerox with customer's ease-of-use in mind. This is the first time a self-service digital photo printing service has been offered in Japan's convenience store industry. Fuji Photo Film's unique image processing technology^{Note 2} has also been incorporated.

Copy machines were first introduced into Seven-Eleven Japan stores in 1982. Since then, the models have been periodically upgraded based on changing customer needs. A variety of convenient features have been added over the years to complement the standard black and white capacity, including color copying, fax, ticket-issuing services and network printing. The concept behind this latest upgrade, the first since April 2000, was envisaged by Seven-Eleven Japan and Fuji Xerox in a combined effort. The goal was to enhance convenience and operability by augmenting existing copy machine functions with the highly demanded digital photo printing capability.

Ahead of the machine introduction, Seven-Eleven Japan linked its headquarters and store network by way of an optical communications line. The network link will allow customers to utilize services such as Ticket PIA and Net Print faster and with greater ease.

The digital photo print function unites the merits of "quality", "speed" and "convenience," features, which are greatly sought after by customers. The crisp, clear images can be printed consecutively in "large size" at a speed of 11 prints per minute, with each sheet costing 30 yen (tax inclusive). In line with the large number of customers who only want to copy one sheet, Fuji Xerox worked to enhance the first copy output speed, increasing color copy speed approximately 1.5 times relative to the existing machine. Meanwhile, the consecutive copy function realizes 35 sheets per minute in A4 color, a three-fold improvement over its predecessor. These speeds - the fastest in the convenience store industry - considerably reduce machine utilization time.

The shipment volume of digital cameras in Japan has been growing steadily each year, with the total of the past four years alone exceeding 22 million units. Consumer demand for digital photo prints has risen accordingly. Fully aware of this market's high growth potential, Fuji Xerox seeks to provide customers with the ultimate in convenience with the unique multi-use copy machines that can produce simple, quick and high-quality digital photo prints.