A vacuum-powered suction cup used in a sheetfed offset press sheet-separation unit to pick up the topmost sheet of the pile and transfer it to the feedboard. On a stream feeder, the forwarding suckers are located toward the middle or front of the pile; they lift the topmost sheet and transfer it to the feedboard. At the rear of the pile, the pickup suckers initially pick the sheet from the top of the pile. A jet of air ensures that the top sheet is clear, and the pickup suckers release the sheet as the forwarding suckers take it. On a single-sheet feeder, one set of pickup suckers is located at the gripper (or front) edge of the pile and performs both lifting and fowarding jobs. See Sheet-Separation Unit and Feeder Section.
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