The London-based publisher, which publishes 19 titles that reach a total of 13.5m readers each year, will deploy the software to ease the workload of production staff.

NatMags, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation, produces titles such as Good Housekeeping, Country Living, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire and Cosmopolitan.

The software, which is offered by Vertus, improves cut-outs, meaning staff can spend less time editing images. The tool can remove objects from their backgrounds by adapting complex algorithms that mimic the way the human eye and brain see edges and objects.

Sean Briggs, group publishing systems manager for NatMags, said the company had tested the program's capabilities since launch and compared it with a range of other products.

"It truly helps to unlock our staff members' creativity and perfect their execution," Briggs said. "It has taken us a long way towards simplifying once complex, graphic reproduction tasks.

"The improvements to our workflow have meant that we quickly realise the return on our investment for each installation of Fluid Mask 3."

Fluid Mask 3, which is currently available for Windows XP and Vista, Mac Intel, and Power PC 10.3.9 and upwards, retails for £116 ($239) via the Vertus website.