The Mailing House Group opted for a Mailliner 100 as part of a "multi-million pound" investment programme to launch itself into the transactional mail and postal markets.

The purchase follows the firm being added to a number of government-approved supplier lists, and gaining initial licence approval to offer downstream mail delivery services in the north of England.

The Cramlington, Northumberland-based mailing house, which handles around 100m polywrapped items per year, signed for the Mailliner with UK agent Norpack. Delivery is scheduled for September, when it will be installed in the firm's purpose-built 11,000sqm factory.

It is now looking at digital press technology with a view to adding it to the hybrid mailing line. "We looked at the back-end first, as that's what we know, but now the the digital front-end is under discussion," said Mailing House managing director Jacqueline Peddie (pictured left).

The 100m per minute line can be linked to a 520mm unwinder for two-up production. Alternatively, it can be linked to a raft of high-volume reel-fed digital print engines, such as those from Kodak Versamark, Oc, and Nipson.

"It's a wonderful product and the market isn't fully aware of it yet, but when the market picks up on it, it's going to be massive," said Mailing House director Malcolm Peddie (right).

As well as being able to be linked directly to a web-fed digital press, the Mailliner 100 can work offline with pre-printed reels. It takes the printed web and cuts, folds, collates and inserts up to seven sheet mailing packs into "real DL-C5 windowless envelopes", which are die-cut and assembled around the letter. The system can also be configured with up to four insert stations. 

Meanwhile, the firm has announced that it is to develop a next-generation mailing line with Emtex, a division of Pitney Bowes. In addition, Pitney Bowes DMT is to "explore "potential technology and business synergies" with the firm.