Under the arrangement Canon will market, sell and support 3D Systems’ manufacturing 3D printers, including the ProJet 1200, 3500 series, 4500, 6000 and 7000, in the UK and Ireland, with a view to rolling out across Europe.

Canon said this partnership reflects its ongoing growth strategy of expansion into new technology domains to add value to its customer base.

Canon UK and Ireland Wide Format Print Group director Duncan Smith said, “At Canon, we have a strong record of introducing our customers to innovative new technologies that make a positive difference to their business.

“With applications of 3D printing growing at a fast pace, especially in the markets we already service with our wide-format solutions, we want to ensure that our customers are aware of and able to exploit the endless opportunities and added value this technology can deliver.

“The combination of our trusted sales and service support infrastructure and our partnership with 3D Systems puts Canon in a unique position to guide and support our customers in their adoption of 3D printing.”

3D Systems vice-president and chief revenue officer Michele Marchesan added: “We are excited to team up with a proven and experienced partner like Canon Europe to expand our distribution across the UK and Ireland.

“Canon is a trusted provider of industry solutions with strong service and support, and we are thrilled to extend our advanced 3D printing technology to a wider range of customers and applications.”

The 3D printing market is continuing to grow rapidly. Research and advisory company Gartner has predicted that end-user spending on 3D printers is expected to increase from $1.6bn (£1bn) in 2015 to around $13.4bn (£8.7bn) in 2018.

Canon will start selling printers from the 3D Systems portfolio to customers in the engineering, manufacturing and architectural market sectors from the beginning of March.