Kluge press with Big Foot Suckers

kluge and other sources already make a large sucker for any of the auto feed presses.

klugesucker.jpg

BigFoot does list them, part 1040, Kluge (4 pc.) at $358. I imagine there would be a special bracket included for correct position.
I’ve used them on Chiefs 15 and 22 and they make a huge difference in feeding.

I too have enjoyed using the Big Foot on my Miehle Vertical. Once I made the switch many years ago, I haven’t gone back to the original feeder shoes. It’s not the size of the sucker but how the whole assembly works.

Parallel and nagraph. I was beginning to wonder if any letterpress folks even knew what I was talking about. Sure glad you guys responded.. I have tried to find the manufacture of the BigFoot but haven’t been able to get a phone number that worked. I did have a number for them down in the Los Angeles area but that number has been diconnected. Like nagraph says, it’s the workings of the sucker that make them great. I do know that they have been put on Kluges and would love to hear from someone that has first hand knowledge. I run them on my 3 Verticals and love them. I do have several sucker foot units that I could adapt to the Kluge but I think it would be more than simply making a bracket for them. I think I would have to make some kind of a vacuum break and reset valve like a Hamada 600 or a Multi 1250 had. Any ideas? Carl.

The maker of the Big Foot is MichRen located in Phoenix. The main phone is 623-582-3505 and to talk to the owner direct is 623-760-5089. Buy direct or through dealers like myself, same price. I ship direct from the maker through www.nagraph.com.

the kluge has a built in- adjustable vacuum break. i know of these style suckers. they use the same action/style for pick-up suckers on any Bobst/ large format flat bed press. i don’t see them working real well on a kluge press. they would pick up the sheets ok, as long as the stock wasn’t too stiff, as say for coasters. the problem i see is dropping the sheet. the press is not really designed for the 3/4” drop once the vacuum releases. the cam system that regulates the action of the arm would have to be heavily modified for the arm to raise enough to not scuff the back of the sheet, or, drag so much as to cause misregister. Maybe if the “vacuum lift” of the sucker were reduced to 1/8” maybe it could work. just my thoughts. maybe i not seeing the big picture.

We used Bigfoots on our 1964 12x18, feeding most stocks from flat merchandise bags to 110 & 220 Lettra well, particularly at slow speeds when our old pump had its “softest” pull.

The height of the sucker piston can be adjusted to compensate for the drop Eric mentions and give you good register.

We’ve gone back to standard Kluge suckers since we hooked up an independent rotary vane vacuum pump, but did enjoy printing with the Bigfoots.

Many thanks to Eric, Rick and all that has helped me. I now have a set of big foot mounting brackets for the kluge. I tried them today, they work better than I had hoped for. My kluge is one of the early green model D 12x18 but has the older piston style air pump. The big foot really did make an improvement. Thanks again…what a great bunch of folks here on the Bryer Press. Carl.

ok,,,,, you gize have spiked my interest…. Can someone post here, or message me a pic or 2 of this application?