The Imail service allows corporate and private users to email a letter or mail piece to UK Mail, which then prints it at one of six UK sites for next day delivery.

According to BPG, Imail can lower the cost of producing and posting first class items by up to 60%, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of a letter by more than 80%.

Jackie Lawrie, senior campaign executive at UK Mail, told PrintWeek that the Imail software also has a mail merge facility for direct mail.

Konica Minolta equipment will be used to print the mailers at sites in Barking, Birmingham, Bristol, Croydon, Livingston and Runcorn.

Guy Buswell, chief executive of Business Post Group, said: "With the launch of Imail we have created the first alternative to first class mail, providing a real choice to customers within the UK."

The software package is suitable for all computer types and sends directly to the UK Mail sort centre closest to the destination where it will be printed, enveloped and sorted. The scheme can be used for next day delivery, as late as 6pm the day before.

The price of next-day delivery will start from 51p per item, which will be inclusive of all stationery, production and first class delivery. According to the company, first class mail is estimated to cost around £1 per item.

For multiple items, Imail will offer full mail-merge facilities and users can upload a scanned version of their signature that can be automatically applied to documents.

Business users will have access to a range of management information data on postage usage.

The launch came as BPG published its interim results. The company recorded a 25% increase in pre-tax profit from £4.8m to £6m, on the back of a 16% increase in turnover, which rose from £167.3m to £194.5m.