A new machine at a North-East salon is revolutionising nail art, as Sarah Foster finds out.

DEBORAH Allen has nails that just demand to be noticed. Long and shapely, they each bear a different pattern, from leopard print to peacock, and on closer examination, it becomes apparent that they are too perfect to have been applied by human hands.

So how did she achieve such amazing effects? The answer is with a new machine she's just bought for her Darlington salon, Nailbar 1. "There are only 20 of these machines in the whole country and they have come over from America," she says. "It's taking nail art to a new level."

While she did previously offer nail art, painstakingly applying the designs herself, the machine, called NailJet Pro, has allowed Deborah to greatly increase the choice. When clients come in, they are given a brochure containing hundreds of different patterns and Deborah says that choosing what they want is the most time-consuming part of the process. "The Playboy bunny has been particularly popular as well as Burberry patterns. The religious pictures are going down well for christenings and confirmations," she says.

Among the wide range of designs, encompassing everything from fine art to cartoons, are national flags - an obvious choice for football fans during Euro 2004. And, extensive as it is, clients are not even restricted to the brochure. Companies can have their staff's nails displaying their logo and you can even bring in your own photographs on a CD Rom and have these emblazoned on your nails - ideal, says Deborah, for hen parties.

Not having come armed with my family snaps, I opt for a variety of abstract designs, along with a pouting woman complete with sunglasses and piled-up hair.

After having my nails filed and a white base coat applied to them, I'm ready for the machine, and place my fingers into the plastic grooves as directed. Once they are inside it, I can see my nails on a screen, and how the patterns will look on them. Deborah presses a few buttons and asks me to keep my hands still as ink is applied, just like in a regular printer. After a mere 20 seconds, one hand is done, and she repeats the process with the other one. The result? Patterns applied with amazing precision and nails that are bound to get me noticed.

* Nail art using the NailJet Pro machine costs £20 at Nailbar 1, Northumberland Street (off Grange Road), Darlington (01325) 483486, www.nailbar1.com