Paper drying is an exergy costly operation, so also a few percent saving may be of importance. The entropy production for the paper drying process was therefore optimised for a conventional multi-cylinder drying machine, the PM2 newsprint machine at Norske Skog ASA in Skogn, Norway. The machine has 51 cylinders grouped in three drying groups; the cylinders are either heated from the inside by steam, unheated or operated under vacuum conditions. The same inlet drying air is supplied in all upper air-pockets of the machine. Our drying model for the paper temperature profile was first compared with measured data from the machine. The total entropy production of the drying process was next calculated, and then minimised subject to a fixed outlet paper moisture content. Inlet humidity and cylinder group conditions were varied. Optimum conditions were obtained for a range of inlet air humidities, and for different cylinder groupings. We found that it was very favourable to increase the inlet air humidity. Other changes had a negligible effect on the total entropy production. The results further pointed to the need for a revision of the current paper drying model, as the second-law of thermodynamics was violated at high air humidities with this model. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.