The university is installing two Canon imagePress mono presses, running at 110ppm and 135ppm, as well as a colour imageRunner Advance 9060.

A Canon Helix workflow system will link the printers to three separate campus sites, giving access to 1,200 undergraduates, 500 postgraduates and 500 faculty staff who can automatically place orders for printing work.

Secretary of the department Richard Collet-Fenson said the new presses marked a significant upgrade and modernisation programme to its existing facilities.

"What I am most excited about is the new Helix system," he said. "In the past, we had a bolt-on Equitrac system, but now we will have much better control and the ability to interface with the local area network, which is essential as we have thousands of ‘little' users.

"However, the trouble with systems like Helix that have such wonderful capacity is that, as they are so complex, it may take some years to get the full value out of it."

The department's printroom, which employs four full-time printers, produces 12m documents a year, including lecture notes, exam papers, theses and educational aids, as well as business materials.

"We will now be able to provide a much more effective public service and just-in-time ordering and delivery system to meet staff and student requirements," he added.

As the largest print department of all of the university's colleges, Collet-Fenson said that other faculties may now look to take on Canon, as engineering often led the way for adopting new technology at the university.

George Lyndley, purchasing controller for Cambridge University, Department of Engineering, and Collet-Fenson finalised the deal with Richard Thomas, Canon's national sales manager, professional print CRD, Canon UK, on stand 270 in Hall 10 on Thursday (20 May).