Abstract: A printing machine for printing an image including colorants, including a liquid carrier, on a recording medium moving along a path through a pre-print zone and a print zone including a heat and hold drier. The printing machine includes a printhead, disposed adjacent the print zone, to deposit the colorants, including the liquid carrier, on the recording medium during movement through the print zone, a pre-print zone drier, disposed adjacent the pre-print zone, to generate a heat energy, towards the recording medium, sufficiently elevated for retention in the recording medium during movement thereof through the print zone.