The skin of a lizard brought to life through tactile ink, a glitzy metallic greetings card and sophisticated security inks: all effects which once were only pipe dreams for digital printers. However, many of these digital dreams have become reality. Since the last Drupa, digital technology has come on apace, enabling applications that used to be in the domain of long-run litho work to be rolled out cost-effectively for shorter run and personalised jobs.