This invention relates to a method and a device for the thermal treatment of substrates in which the substrates are held in contact with or a small distance away from a heating plate, which is heated by a plurality of separately controllable heating elements on the side of the heating plate facing away from the substrate, the heating plate being surrounded, at least in its plane, by a frame spaced apart therefrom, and gas being conveyed, in a controlled manner, through a gap between the frame and at least one edge of the heating plate.