Systems and methods provide targeted cooling for portions of print media during a radiant drying process. One embodiment comprises a radiant dryer and a control system. The radiant dryer includes a radiant energy source within an interior of the radiant dryer that dries a colorant onto a continuous-form medium. The radiant dryer further includes a plurality of independently actuated cooling jets within the interior that apply a cooling gas to the medium. The control system determines regions on the medium where the colorant is at risk of overheating, and directs the cooling jets to apply the cooling gas to the regions.