You’re building a lasagna.
That’s what it looks like when you load a traditional flower press. Layers of cardboard, layers of paper, flowers nestled in the middle, more paper on top, more cardboard. Repeat until you run out of flowers or bolt space. Tighten everything down and walk away.
I’ve pressed tens of thousands of flowers, preserved over 350 wedding bouquets, and made every mistake you can make along the way. Some of those mistakes ruined beautiful flowers from my own garden, which stung more than I’d like to admit.
This post is everything I know about using a traditional press. It’s not complicated, but there are details that make the difference between a gorgeous pressed flower and a brown, moldy disappointment. And most of the advice I see online either skips those details or gets them wrong.
A few things before we start. This is one of four posts about pressing equipment. I’m also covering the microwave press, the dehydrator foam press, and the natural fiber method. Each method produces different results, and I combine them in my professional work, so none of them exists in isolation. This post focuses on the traditional press itself: how to choose one, how to load it, how to manage the drying process, and how to troubleshoot when something goes sideways.
I’m keeping the focus on technique here. I’ll cover pressing individual flowers in a series of posts coming later. For now, let’s talk equipment!
Choosing the right flower press
Size matters more than anything else
Don’t worry about brand names! I’ve bought seven presses off Amazon and had the rest custom-built. The brand on the box made zero difference to my results. What mattered was size and material.
Here’s my rule of thumb: buy a press that fits a standard sheet of copy paper. That’s 8.5 x 11 inches (letter size) or A4 if you’re in Europe. It will save you time, and you won’t need to cut paper to size.
If you want to go bigger (and eventually you might), look for a press that fits two sheets of standard paper side by side. That’s roughly 18 x 12 inches. This is the exact press I use in my professional work; I own 8 of them. They are large enough for an entire wedding bouquet. For a hobbyist, though, a press that fits one sheet of paper is a great starting point, like this one.
Those little mini presses you see everywhere? They’re cute. They look great on a shelf. And they are genuinely not practical for actual pressing. The pressing surface is too small to fit more than a couple of flowers, and you’ll outgrow it almost immediately if you enjoy this at all.
This is one of my large presses. It holds two standard pieces of paper side by side, making it ideal for my professional work.
What the press should be made of
Solid hardwood. A single piece of wood for the top and bottom panels, not multiple pieces glued together. I learned this the hard way when one of my presses cracked right along the glue seam. You’re applying serious pressure to this thing (I literally stand on mine to tighten the wing nuts), and composite materials can’t take it.
Specifically, avoid:
Pine: Too soft, too lightweight, warps under pressure.
Plywood: Layers separate over time, it will bend.
Composite or plastic: Composite separates under pressure, and plastic traps moisture instead of letting it escape through the wood.
Bottom line: You want something dense and rigid. Most of the hardwood presses on Amazon don’t specify the exact wood species, and that’s fine. If it feels heavy and solid and it’s made from a single plank, you’re probably in good shape. The thickness matters too. Thin boards flex, thick boards don’t. You want boards that stay perfectly flat when you crank down those wing nuts.
One of my favorite presses was made by a high school kid looking to get credit in his woodworking class. It fits letter-size paper perfectly.
Bolts and wing nuts: the only closure I recommend
Bolts and wing nuts are the way to go. They apply even pressure across the entire surface, they let you control exactly how tight the press is, and you can swap them out for longer bolts as your needs grow.
My presses originally came with short bolts, maybe three or four inches. I went to the hardware store and replaced them with six-inch bolts, which gives me enough length to accommodate many layers of paper and flowers with room to spare. When you go to the hardware store, bring one of the original wing nuts with you to match the thread size. Bolts and wing nuts come in different sizes, and you need them to match.
What about straps? I don’t recommend them. Two straps positioned at the edges of the press almost never apply equal tension, and you end up with lopsided pressure. One side presses harder than the other, and the flowers on the slack side don’t dry properly. Getting straps truly tight is also more work than it should be, and they loosen over time.
Clamps work fine mechanically. They’re just bulky and a little cumbersome compared to wing nuts. If that’s what you have, use them. If you’re buying fresh, go with bolts.
Building your own vs. buying
My husband built a couple of presses for me. It wasn’t easy, even though he’s comfortable with power tools. You need an electric saw, a drill, the right hardware, and wood that’s thick enough and flat enough to work. If you’re buying lumber, it comes in predetermined sizes that may not be what you need, and a single plank of hardwood isn’t cheap.
Honestly? Unless you already have the tools and enjoy this kind of project (or have a handy partner or teenager who does), just buy a press. A ready-made press that fits a single sheet of paper runs about $30 to $40. That’s less than you’d spend on materials in most cases, and you skip all the guesswork.
Building the lasagna: what goes inside your press
Cardboard: what works and what doesn’t
Corrugated cardboard is fine, but only if the corrugation is light and shallow. Run your finger across the surface. If you can barely feel the ridges, you’re good. If the channels are tall and defined (like the heavy cardboard used in shipping boxes), those ridges will imprint directly onto your petals when you tighten the press. I’ve ruined beautiful garden flowers this way. You cannot fix corrugation marks once they’re there.