A rotating, perforated metal cylinder at the end of a fourdrinier papermaking machine's forming section that uses a vacuum to remove water from the wet paper web before the web is sent to the press section. After passing through the couch roll, the paper web is still about 80:85% water. (See Fourdrinier.)
It is called a "couch roll" because the moving felt belts of the press section were at one time called "couches." The roll that transferred the web to the couch was then called the "couch roll."