The event, at Robert Horne's Manchester site, aimed to show commercial printers the array of possibilities and price points available in the wide-format printing and signage space.

It hosted the first UK showing for the Jetrix 1212, a flatbed UV inkjet printer with a compact footprint but print size of 1.2m x 1.2m.

The £59,500 device uses Konica Minolta heads and ink made by Jetrix manufacturer InkTec. It can print at up to 26sqm/hour onto materials up to 70mm thick, at a maximum resolution of 1,440dpi. The ink includes a primer so it can print onto difficult substrates without the need for pre-treatment.

"We have two customers who've ordered a second machine within 12 months. This is a new entry into the market, for a machine with this size and this quality. Its main competition is probably screen printing," said Ben Woodruff, UK sales manager at InkTec.

The machine on show in Manchester was expected to be sold at the event.

Phil Tomlinson, hardware sales manager for digital solutions at Paperlinx, said the company was pleased with the level of interest. "We're hoping people come here and find at least one thing they didn't know they could do," he said.

A raft of kit from manufacturers including Canon, HP, Mimaki, Zund, EFI, Onyx, Seal, Summa and Epson was on display, all clearly labelled with a price tag and typical weekly leasing cost.

The Vortex 4200 wide-format device, which uses high-speed Memjet inkjet heads was also on display. This is the only Memjet-powered, wide-format device being marketed in the UK at the moment.

It has a native resolution of 1,600dpi and prints at either 1,000sqm/hour or 500sqm/hour with a print width of just over a metre. It can produce a single print up to 150 metres long and costs around £60,000.

A device is being trialled by a UK printer and is expected to be converted into a sale imminently.

"There is nothing like it. It's a volume machine, built for churning work out. You could replace six standard wide-format printers with this one device," explained Nick Bush, sales manager at Vortex distributor Reprographic Technology. "If your typical work mix includes jobs like 500 posters, this is the machine for you."

Paperlinx was showcasing various substrate options for wide-format output, and Tomlinson said one of the firm's aims was to introduce people to new materials while encouraging them to make the right selections for the best ROI.

"So many times people either under- or over-specify the materials they are using, whether it is long-life graphics or something that will only be used for a few days. We want people to get the right fit for the application," he said.

The Discover event continues today (11 April) in Manchester and will be held again in Glasgow on 21-22 May.