The deal, the first of its kind, means that Agfa will take total responsibility for the pre-press production taking digital page data from NI and providing plates ready to mount on press.

NI pays for the service on a per plate basis "analogous, but not the same as a click charge".

"As we planned, pre-press and production for our new printing sites, we were looking to buy more than technology," said NI managing director of operations Ian McDonald. "What we wanted was failsafe operations from file intake to the printing press."

"This is the largest contract in the history of our company, but more importantly it brings a new business model to newspaper publishing," said Agfa Graphics president Stefaan Vanhooren. "It shows how our applications knowledge, total solutions approach, innovative digital technology and service combine to deliver our partners a revolutionary value proposition that no other pre-press vendor can offer."

Glasgow will be the first site to be rolled out in September this year, followed by Knowsley and then the new London site at Broxbourne.

The service will be produced on 20 Polaris XCV-S violet platesetters using Agfa's N91v plates all driven by its Arkitex workflow, which will be interfaced to the MAN Roland press controls.

"The risk of The Sun not being produced is now ours, not News International's," said Agfa Graphics UK director Laurence Roberts.

Meanwhile, the firm is showing a processless violet plate at Ipex that can be exposed by all current violet platesetters. It is being shown as a technology demonstration at the show, but will be commercially available by the end of 2007.

"Visible light engines are now future proof for processless just like thermal," said Agfa UK plate product manager Mike Loose.

It is a photopolymer plate, which needs a pre-heat stage to harden the image before a gumming unit removes the non-image area and applies a preservative gum.