Digital printing is a method of printing from a digital-based image directly to a variety of media.[1] It usually refers to professional printing where small-run jobs from desktop publishing and other digital sources are printed using large-format and/or high-volume laser or inkjet printers.

The greatest difference between digital printing and analog methods, such as lithography, flexography, gravure, and letterpress, is that in digital printing (introduced in the 1980s) there is no need to replace printing plate, whereas in analog printing the plates are repeatedly replaced.[4] This results in quicker turnaround time and lower cost in digital printing, but typically a loss of detail in most commercial digital printing processes. The most popular methods include inkjet and laser printers, which deposit pigment and toner, respectively, onto substrates, such as paper, canvas, glass, metal, and marble.

In many of the processes, the ink or toner does not permeate the substrate, as does conventional ink, but forms a thin layer on the surface that may be additionally adhered to the substrate by a fuser fluid with thermal (toner) or ultraviolet curing (ink).