The college said it had reviewed the "educational and financial viability" of its programmes and that the changes will take effect from the 2012/2013 academic year.
Leeds City College deputy principal for teaching and learning Jane Taylor said: "Rather than basing the teaching within the College’s facilities, we will now be doing this in industry."
Current print student Sam Roper said the "cost-cutting" move could harm the print industry.
He said: "Leeds City College is one of the last in the UK to teach print and people come from all over the UK to take this course. I fear that eventually the course will end up being closed completely and it will mean fewer young people going into the print industry."
Roper said that learning print in a college environment had benefits that could not necessarily be replicated in industry.
"At college, students can make mistakes and learn how to use the equipment without the added pressure of an employer watching.
"There are currently 40 students on my course and our online tutor has been made redundant, which means there is no one to teach us or mark our work."
Taylor said in response to Roper’s comments: "As part of the adjustments to the college’s in-house print provision this year, two lecturers have taken voluntary redundancy.
"Leeds City College has a full commitment to its existing students – those coming to the end of their apprenticeship courses will complete this year, and receive all the relevant support necessary to complete their qualification."
The college already provides remote support to a number of employers in the printing industry and handles the day-to-day management and delivery of training programmes for Polestar.
In a recent Ofsted report on Polestar’s government-funded training provision, the college was singled out for praise for its "very effective" online system, however the Ofsted report cited that "too many [trainees] find that they are unable to manage their time to complete off-the-job training and so do not complete their programmes".
BPIF chief executive Kathy Woodward said: "With an ageing industry profile it is really important that we recruit young people into the industry and particularly in areas like Leeds where we have a cluster of printers.
"It is also important that the quality of training and support that they receive is not compromised."
