A sensing roll for use in a nip press , comprising: a substantially cylindrical member having an outer surface and adapted for rotational movement; a roll cover circumferentially overlying the outer surface of the cylindrical member; and a sensing system associated with the roll cover, comprising: a first set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover, each sensor of the first set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover ; and at least one additional set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover , each sensor of the at least one additional set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover, wherein each sensor of the first set has a corresponding sensor in the at least one additional set which is located at the same cross-directional position but is spaced apart circumferentially in an evenly spaced or unevenly spaced manner, wherein each sensor is configured to sense and provide a measurement of pressure at the respective cross-directional position when the sensor enters a nip region of the nip press , characterized in that the measurements are averaged to supply an average pressure measurement characteristic of a particular cross-directional position to processing equipment that is configured to calculate and display a nip pressure profile for the nip press and a nip rotational variability profile. a substantially cylindrical member having an outer surface and adapted for rotational movement; a roll cover circumferentially overlying the outer surface of the cylindrical member; and a sensing system associated with the roll cover, comprising: a first set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover, each sensor of the first set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover ; and at least one additional set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover , each sensor of the at least one additional set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover, a first set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover, each sensor of the first set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover ; and at least one additional set of pressure-measuring sensors disposed in a particular configuration along the roll cover , each sensor of the at least one additional set being located at a particular cross-directional position on the roll cover, wherein each sensor of the first set has a corresponding sensor in the at least one additional set which is located at the same cross-directional position but is spaced apart circumferentially in an evenly spaced or unevenly spaced manner, wherein each sensor is configured to sense and provide a measurement of pressure at the respective cross-directional position when the sensor enters a nip region of the nip press , characterized in that the measurements are averaged to supply an average pressure measurement characteristic of a particular cross-directional position to processing equipment that is configured to calculate and display a nip pressure profile for the nip press and a nip rotational variability profile. <EOS>