Post cards created on the iPostcard app are sent via FTP at 4pm every day and are then printed on 300gsm card on the Dorchester printer's Xerox iGen4 press.

They are given a UV gloss finish, collected by Royal Mail at 5.15pm and sent anywhere in the world. iPostcards cost 99p for UK and £1.49 for worldwide delivery.

ADP teamed up with Apple and Plymouth firm e-Cards Media, which developed the technology, which iPhone users download free from the iTunes App Store.

Adrian Wood, ADP sales and general manager, said 2,000 images had been printed each week since the app's launch two months ago.

"iPostcards have been sent from events such as parties, Glastonbury and the World Cup. They look like traditional postcards but you are free to choose a unique image."

Users pay by PayPal, and the ADP monthly contract is on a sliding scale: the more images printed the cheaper the cost to the client.

"It is a reliable service," said Wood. "Postcards are sent out that day, so no more waiting two weeks for postcards to come home.'