The deal, worth 100,000, was handled by EMC's UK distributor Continua, which is part of Xerox.

"This was not a hefty investment for us as the equipment was reasonably priced," said Howard Hunt general manager Mark Folkard. "It is quick and gives us many extra benefits."

"We have been developing this equipment over a year and this is a landmark sale for us," said Continua managing director Steve Clay.

The EMC Conquest includes an advanced electronic gripper arm to handle a wide range of material and paper stock. The machine handles C5 and DL sized envelopes.

Howard Hunt was due to make a decision whether to buy a second EMC inserter to handle A4 envelopes as went to press.

The machine was on display at last month's International Direct Marketing Fair at Earls Court. EMC is a US company and specialises in configurable inserting equipment.

Story by Philip Chadwick