Drying homogeneity within technical web driers is an important issue in the coating industry, especially for drying sensitive functional films. In this paper we detail the construction of a simple sensor for point measurements of local heat transfer coefficients. A procedure for calibration is presented as well as a validation of the results by comparison to literature. The sensor is applied to characterize a fraction of a technical dryer indicating the position of hot spots. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.