Under the terms of the contract, London-based FMG will provide pre-press services for a range of Associated's titles, handling up to 2,000 images a week from its UK and Indian offices.

FMG managing director Andy Berg said the contract win, which followed a competitive tender that included a month-long trial of the company's workflow and processes, was testament to its commitment to the traditional pre-press market.

"We have been selected after a rigorous pitch process, by one of the UK's largest newspaper group's – our team of pre-press professionals have proved once again that they are some of the best in the industry," he said.

"We are delighted to be working with Associated Newspapers on such a high-profile pre-press contract.  We're really committed to pre-press and this deal confirms our position as the UK's largest pre-press company."

The contract win is FMG's third of 2010, following last month's award of an additional three titles from Show Media, plus a partnership deal with Clays to provide clients with eBook conversion services.

Associated Newspapers is the national newspaper publishing arm of Daily Mail & General Trust, which recently claimed that it had seen a "marked improvement" in advertising revenue compared with a year ago.

The contract win represents FMG's first for a national daily newspaper in the UK, although it does already provide pre-press services to the Telegraph Media Group for its weekend supplements.