Thermal imprint and heat transfer on the target surface in multiple impinging jet arrays have been investigated in conjunction with flow pattern and large-scale eddy structure. Surface temperature was measured with liquid crystal thermography (LCT) in a range of jet configurations with hexagonal and in-line orifice arrangements for different combinations of distances between the orifices $s/D_m\,{=}\,2\hbox{--}6$ and between the orifice plate and the impingement surface $H/D_m\,{=}\,3\hbox{--}10$ (where $D_m$ is the orifice diameter). The hexagonal arrangement was considered with two different orifice shapes: sharp-edged and contoured. For selected configurations, the distribution of Nusselt number and its peculiarities were analysed in relation with the underlying eddy structure educed by proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) of the snapshots of fluid velocity measured with particle image velocimetry (PIV). Owing to the breakdown of the jets, heat transfer deteriorates with increasing orifice-to-plate distance. The jet interaction and breakdown become more severe as the jets are placed closer to each other. The large-scale eddies originating from the jet-edge shear layers grow as they are convected towards the impingement plate. Eddies of sizes between 0.2 and 0.3 orifice diameters are shown to break up the jets and cause mixing of fresh and spent fluid, lowering the beneficial temperature gradient. In some configurations, an asymmetric flow pattern is generated with embedded weak eddies on only one side of the diagonal symmetry line, which is reflected in an asymmetrical heat transfer distribution on the impingement plate. For $H/D_m\,{>}\,4$, the Nusselt number shows peak values in and around the jet impingement centres, but relatively uniform distribution of turbulence kinetic energy with local negative energy production close to the impingement surface.