in productivity in traditional papermaking processes the solids content of the wet web after application to the drying cylinder but before water evaporation is typically between 30 and 45 solids in order to retain the economies of the traditional process the dryer must be maintained at sufficient speed which speed cannot be maintained if the percent solids of the wet web is below about 30 before water evaporation on the drying cylinder the imprinting felt of the present invention although having low levels of batting can maintain the percent solids content of the wet web above about 30 before water evaporation on the drying cylinder more preferably the imprinting felt of the present invention can dewater the wet web to a solids content of between 35 and 45 before application of the wet web to the drying cylinder thus the imprinting felt of the present invention allows paper to be produced without a substantial increase in the amount of water that needs to be evaporated the improved felts of the invention further allow paper to be produced without the paper fibers entangling with loose batting on the imprinting felt in the papermaking process according to the present invention the paper web can be formed either directly on the imprinting felt or on a separate wire and transferred to the imprinting felt in the imprinting felt according to the present invention the base fabric may preferably be selected from but not limited to nylon polyester acrylic or metallic wire the base fabric is more preferably woven from nylon.