An imaging system includes a substrate cooler that reduces the temperature of substrates bearing dried ink images. The substrate cooler has a plurality of rollers, at least one actuator operatively connected to the plurality of rollers, and a controller operatively connected to the least one actuator. The controller is configured to operate the at least one actuator to move the rollers relative to one another to vary the length of the path along which the substrates move through the substrate cooler.