Fintan
There's nothing wrong with HTML emails as long as you use properly formed HTML and don't embed javascript etc.,
I've heard good things about Campaign Monitor, but personally prefer using Groupmail from Infacta (who just happen to be Irish)
If you follow the kind of guidelines I outlined here:
http://www.mneylon.com/blog/archives...dos-and-donts/
you shouldn't fall foul of spamtraps etc.,
The kind of issues that commonly lead to problems arise most often when it is not clear why the person is getting the mail or how they can get off the list.
Michele