Drum temperature control for a radiant dryer of a printing system

Systems and methods provide enhanced radiant drying capabilities for a printing system utilizing temperature control of a thermally conductive drum (108). One embodiment comprises a radiant dryer and a control system (102). The radiant dryer includes a thermally conductive drum (108) and a plurality of radiant energy sources (110) disposed along an outside surface of the drum. The energy sources dry a colorant applied to a print medium in contact with the drum. The radiant dryer further includes a cooling system (112) that applies a coolant to the drum to remove heat from the drum. The control system (102) measures the temperature of the drum (108), determines a difference between the temperature of the drum and a target temperature, and directs the cooling system to vary an application of the coolant to the drum based on the difference to maintain the drum at the target temperature.