People keep reacting in disbelief when I tell them that I’ve never been on a plane before. Or been abroad, for that matter. I suppose it’s unusual in this day and age but, sadly, it’s true.

Thankfully, PC Pro came to my aid: a trip to the HP Labs Masterclass 2008, which took place in Dublin on Monday and Tuesday and promisd a full schedule of seminars and workshops about plenty of new and existing print technologies. I know, it’s only Dublin – but when you’ve never left this island and you’ve never flown, it’s a (baby) step in the right direction.

So, with backpack and boarding pass, I turned up at Heathrow two hours early. After all, the email I’d got confirming my visit had said that was the ideal time to arrive for check-in and all of that malarkey. Except that, after I’d checked in online, I didn’t really have to do anything except get through security.

The departure lounge was an experience: a haven to slightly-cheaper-than-the-shops shopping, so I did the honourable thing and bought a magazine and some food before settling down for the wait. Eventually, the gate was opened and so I waddled off to the plane – where my bag wasn’t checked, thankfully, as I’m pretty sure it was over 6kg – and I found my seat. I don’t know what they would have done if the Aer Lingus staff had found the scimitar and bag of plastic explosives I’d taken with me.

I trecked through the plane – clambering over businessmen and women with screaming children – and spid my seat. A window! I was pretty excited about the flight and eager to see it all unfold, but then I was moved. Apparently, they can’t have children sitting by the emergency exits, so my row was moved forward. Still, I got more than enough leg room, which is a genuine consideration when you’re 6″ 5.

The flight was brilliant: I hadn’t factored in any acceleration so when the plane – an Airbus A321 – suddenly hurtled down the runway with astonishing force. It pushed me back in my seat, but wasn’t uncomfortable, just hugely exciting.

Yeah, the flying was ace.

Dublin wasn’t bad either: the 4-star Dunboyne Castle Hotel and Spa with stunning food and fantastic, luxurious rooms, and plenty of new products – none of which, unfortunately, I’m allowed to utter a peep about.

Plenty of the sessions were really interesting, too: one explained the anatomy of a printer and the very particular problems that can scupper even basic functions – such as the paper being fed into the mechanism – and the extraordinary amount of effort that can go into solving them. There was also a demonstration of the different amount of ink that’s been used over the years, from the huge droplets initially used to the tiny particles that fire literally thousands of times a second out of every nozzle.

Monday evening called for a trip: dinner at the fantastic Carton House followed by entertainment from a string quartet. The next day there was an early start to visit DIMO, HP’s Irish manufacturing facility. Plenty of talks about various aspects of printing – including some very interesting stuff on a literally microscopic level – followed by the world’s biggest buffet and a tour around the plant, which was very cool – thousands of part-built cartridges on little rollercoaster-esque conveyor belts beside 1000-litre tanks of ink with names like ‘Nemesis’.

There was also a session about mobile printing and some new concepts were shown off – including some that make wireless printing and connection incredibly easy. It’s certainly a lot less hassle than struggling with your wireless key, SSID and the various technical terms that little your average router.

Other workshops illustrated just how tough and durable some papers have become: a few prints didn’t flinch when submerged in water or subjected to other acts of abuse. It’s a far cry from leaving precious prints on the radiator to try and salvage their legibility, or worrying that a spell on your desk will leave a precious family snap fading in the sun.

We even got to leave a little early – the tour finished sooner than anticipated – and relocated to a bar in the airport which was, conveniently, right next to our departure gate. I even got a window seat for the flight home, so spent most of the journey peering out of the window and marvelling at either the clouds or the land far, far below.

So, that’s my first press trip and, if that was anything to go by, hopefully not my last. I’ve been abroad and I’ve been on a plane – which, I know, must seem quite mundane when plenty of people get to do that stuff all the time. I even got enough leg room. Result.