A contactless looper for a metal substrate includes an entrance, an exit, and at least one deflection device between the entrance and the exit. The contactless looper is configured to receive a metal substrate moving in a processing direction from the entrance to the exit and impart a deflection along the processing direction in a metal substrate such that a position of the metal substrate at the at least one deflection device is vertically offset from a height of the metal substrate at the entrance of the looper. A method of processing a metal substrate with the contactless looper includes receiving the metal substrate at the entrance of the contactless looper along a passline, imparting a deflection in the metal substrate with the looper, and passing the metal substrate out the exit of the contactless looper.