A contact blade, formed of a plurality of blade segments, is mounted parallel to and spaced from an imaging surface. A plurality of blade lifters, one blade lifter for each of the blade segments, are individually movable from an inoperative position immediately adjacent to the blade segments to an operative position. When in the operative position the engage lifters engage the blade segments and deflect the blade segments. This causes tips of the blade segments to contact a print sheet contacting the imaging surface and press the print sheet against the imaging surface. A lifter activating device moves a current select number of adjacent blade lifters into the operative position.