the wet zone of the web whereby water can be removed by vaporization at the open surface of the web in accordance with the invention when the zone adjacent the hot surface is rewet the amount of water evaporated in the intermediate zone may be reduced or eliminated accordingly the heat from the hot contact surface of the web may be transferred by conduction through all zones of the web rather than by convection in the dry zone and convection and or conduction in the intermediate zone of the web the invention therefore is believed to reduce the amount of energy expended vaporizing water in the intermediate zone of the web and thus utilize more of the available heat energy to dry the web furthermore there is less buildup of vapor in the web during drying and hence less chance for delamination of the plies of a multi ply web an unexpected benefit of the process of the invention is the substantial reduction in the shrinkage rate of the web webs which are continuously rewet before the web reaches a solids content of about 85 wt exhibit a shrinkage rate of less than about 2 whereas a shrinkage rate of about 4 to about 10 is typical with conventional drying techniques in order to effectively rewet the web a water spray steam shower or moisture laden moving felt belt in contact with the web may be used to add sufficient moisture to the web water.