A paper feed mechanism for a printing station. The mechanism includes a primary set of rollers and a secondary set of rollers for feeding a sheet of paper past a printhead, and a pivot rod rotatably driven by a drive means. Also included is a pick-up bar pivotally connected to the pivot rod via swing arms, the pick-up bar having a foot portion to facilitate pick-up of a sheet of paper from a stack. The mechanism further includes a fluid hose attached to the foot portion, said fluid hose operatively delivering pressurised air to the foot portion to facilitate pick-up of a sheet from the stack, wherein the pick-up bar delivers the sheet to the rollers.