Indian pre-press firm Express KCS has developed bespoke online ad production system Ella, which allows clients to build their own ads.

Express KCS managing director Robert Berkeley said the deal proved that offshore pre-media could be as sophisticated as local, but at a lower cost.

The move could signal the start of a trend for NI property magazines.

"I don't want to pre-empt anything, it depends how we perform, but the potential is there. Offshoring is the way forward," he said.

NI head of corporate development Andrew Perry-Smith said: "News International is a demanding client and Express KCS has usually exceeded our expectations."

Ella combines a custom-developed ad production system and manual page layout for clients to produce print-ready PDFs from their browsers without the need for plug-ins or specialist software. Berkeley said the deal requires his firm to encourage more clients to use Ella.