A method and system for drying printed ink on the face of a substrate material such as a mailpiece. The method comprising the steps of (i) providing a dryer having at least one variable output element for producing a plurality of dryer configurations, (ii) developing data correlating each of the dryer configurations with at least one print characteristic, (iii) storing the developed data in a memory storage device, (iv) obtaining the print characteristic associated with a particular print job and comparing the print characteristic with the developed data to define a desired dryer configuration, (v) adapting the dryer to assume the desired dryer configuration based upon the print characteristic, and (vi) drying the ink printed on the face of the substrate material. The system may include a taggant introduced into the ink and a means for identifying the taggant to determine the type of ink and the desired dryer configuration.