Rapid heating of a lithographic printing plate is achieved by feeding the printing plate along a substantially curved path that is adjacent to one or more curved pads of an air bearing that is pressurized with heated air. The one or more curved pads are constructed such that the substantially curved path is curved with an axis of curvature substantially perpendicular to the feed direction of the printing plate. The plate is additionally elastically bent to follow and conform to the substantially curved path. The substantially curved path minimizes printing plate distortion during heating, and thus prevents the plate from being damaged from contact with any of the one or more curved pads. The one or more curved pads are also arranged to allow for exceptionally good heat transfer characteristics and thus more effective plate heating.