Canon and TAFE launch print-industry training partnership

NSW Education and Training Minister Carmel Tebbutt opened the Canon Customer Training Facility at TAFE NSW - Sydney Institute, Ultimo College today, making approximately one million dollars worth of state-of-the-art printing equipment available for training.
Ms Tebbutt said the opening marked an industry partnership between Canon and Sydney Institute in response to changes in the printing industry.
"Changes in the printing industry brought on by advances in digital technology have meant that Canon and Sydney Institute have had to look for new approaches to skills development in commercial printing," said Ms Tebbutt.
"The introduction of new commercial digital colour printing technology, such as Canon's products marketed under the family name of imagePRESS, will change the way organisations make decisions about print production. We will see a huge increase in the use of digital printing due to the superior quality and the efficiencies achieved in production. This will lead to a demand for training on the new class of equipment."
The new facility features an imagePRESS , the first model in Canon's highly anticipated new line of colour digital printing presses, and the versatile imageRUNNER iR7105 B&W production system. Sydney Institute will be Canon's official customer training partner for the new imagePRESS C1, allowing Canon customers to benefit from the highest level of professional training.
"The digital printing and graphic arts industries are growing and present a range of new employment and business opportunities," said Canon Australia Managing Director, Shuichi Tsukahara. "Canon is committed to supporting the printing and graphic arts industry in Australia, and our partnership with Sydney Institute is an investment in the future growth of the industry."
The Minister commented that the Canon Customer Training Centre will meet the growing demands for training in the printing industry and help business to take advantage of new technology. "Sydney Institute will be able to use the Canon printing equipment as a training resource for students, which will help ensure students gain skills that are current and relevant to industry."