A surgical end effector comprising a first jaw and a second jaw is disclosed. The first jaw comprises a staple cartridge including a plurality of staples. The second jaw comprises an anvil comprising an anvil surface and a plurality of staple-forming pockets defined in the anvil surface. The second jaw is movable relative to the first jaw. The second jaw comprises an unclamped position, a first clamped position, and a second clamped position. The first clamped position is different than the second clamped position. The anvil surface is in contact with the staple cartridge when the second jaw is in the first clamped position. The staples are configured to be formed against the staple-forming pockets when the second jaw is in the second clamped position. The anvil surface and the staple cartridge are not in contact with each other when the second jaw is in the second clamped position.