The National Printing Skills Centre (NPSC) has secured 500,000 of sponsorship from Ikon Office Solutions, which will see a Canon imageRunner 110 digital printer and a TR Systems MicroPress cluster printing system installed at its Leicester site.

NPSC marketing co-ordinator Jo Taylor said: "The partnership enables students to see and use the latest state-of-the-art equipment, while providing a complement to our training courses, and a facility for Ikon to demonstrate kit.

"As a training centre it is vital that we obtain sponsorship and we were glad to secure Ikon."

Another three black-and-white production systems will be installed as part of the package.

The NPSC will launch a new series of one- to five-day courses in December, aimed at those who need to gain an insight into digital printing.

A launch event to unveil the new equipment and courses will take place at the NPSC training facility on 4 December.

Ikon Office Solutions specialises in providing office products and services. It has around 800 bases in the UK, Europe and the US.

Story by Andy Scott