How to Press Flowers in a Book Without Ruining the Book

Pressing flowers in a book is the oldest method there is, and it still works. It is also the method most likely to leave you with brown petals, a wavy book, and printed text stamped permanently onto a rose.

None of that is the book's fault. It is what you put around the flower that decides the outcome. Get that part right and a book will hold its own against a press for a long time.

What you need

• Fresh flowers. Picked the same day, ideally late morning once the dew has dried.
• A heavy book. Thick, flat, and one you are not precious about. More on choosing it below.
• Blotting paper. The part almost everyone skips. It is what makes this method work rather than half work.
• Something heavy to stack on top. More books, a brick, a bag of flour.
• Two to three weeks.

Why the paper matters more than the book

Pressing is not really about pressure. It is about moisture removal.

A flower is mostly water. Flatten it and that water has to go somewhere. Book pages absorb a little, which is why the method half works, but paper made for reading is slow at it. The moisture that has nowhere to go sits against the petals, and that is what turns them brown or mouldy.

There is a second problem. As those pages take on moisture they swell and warp, and printing ink lifts off damp paper straight onto damp petals. That transfer is permanent.

Blotting paper solves both at once. It is unsized and thick, so it pulls moisture away fast and holds it, and it sits between your flower and the page so no ink ever touches a petal.

Choosing the book

Three things matter, in this order.

Weight and thickness. A phone directory, an old encyclopedia, a dictionary. You want enough mass that the book presses on its own before you add anything on top.

Absorbent, uncoated pages. Old paperbacks and reference books have rough, thirsty paper, which helps. Glossy pages in an art or photography book are coated, so they absorb nothing and trap moisture against the flower.

You do not mind ruining it. Say it plainly: pressing will warp the pages and may stain them. Use a charity shop book, not the one your grandmother gave you.

Step by step

Step 1: Prepare the flowers

Trim the stem to the length you want and strip off excess leaves and anything bruised.

If the flower is bulky at the back, snip the base flat so it lies down properly. Anything thicker than about a centimetre is fighting you in a book. Either slice it in half vertically and press one side, or read how to press big, thick flowers first. For roses, press petal by petal.

If the flowers are wet from rain or watering, let them air dry for an hour. Damp flowers are the fastest route to mould. Flat, single layer blooms like pansies, violas and daisies are the easiest place to start, and there are more in the easiest flowers to press.

Step 2: Build the layers

Open the book roughly in the middle, then from the bottom up:

1. One sheet of blotting paper
2. Your flowers, face down, not touching each other
3. Another sheet of blotting paper
4. Close the book

Give each flower room. Overlapping petals stick together and dry unevenly.

If you want to press more than one batch in the same book, leave at least fifty pages between layers. Any closer and they press against each other rather than flat.

Step 3: Add weight

Stack more books on top, or anything heavy and evenly distributed. Uneven weight is what produces wrinkled, wavy petals, so a flat heavy object beats an odd shaped one.

Then put the whole thing somewhere dry, warm and out of direct sunlight. A cupboard or a shelf away from the window. Damp rooms like bathrooms and kitchens work against you.

Step 4: Change the paper after 24 hours

This is the step that separates flowers that keep their colour from flowers that go brown, and almost no guide mentions it.

The first day is when a flower releases most of its moisture. By the end of it your sheets are damp. Leave them in place and you have effectively stored your flower in a wet environment for the next three weeks.

Swap both sheets after 24 hours. Then again after another two or three days, then roughly weekly.

This is the one real drawback of the book method. Changing paper means dismantling the whole stack, finding your page again and rebuilding it. It is worth doing anyway.

Step 5: Wait

Two to three weeks for most flowers, up to four for thicker ones. There is more detail in how long it takes to press flowers.

They are ready when they feel papery and slightly stiff, and no longer cool to the touch. Cool means there is still moisture in there.

What goes wrong, and why

Brown petals. Moisture stayed too long. Change the paper sooner and more often. White flowers always darken a little, and that is normal, but there is more in why pressed flowers turn brown.

Faint printed text on the petals. Ink transfer from the page. Permanent. Blotting paper prevents it completely.

Mould. Flowers went in damp, or the room is humid. Throw out anything affected so it does not spread, and start again with dry blooms and dry paper.

Wavy, wrinkled petals. Uneven weight, or the stack got knocked. Keep it flat and leave it alone.

Your book is ruined. Warped pages and stains from the moisture. There is no fixing it, only choosing a book you do not mind next time.

When a book stops being enough

Plenty of people press in books for years and never want anything else. But the limits are real, and you tend to meet them all at once.

• Capacity. A book holds a handful of flowers. A press holds dozens in stacked layers.
• Even pressure. Books press hardest at the spine and least at the outer edge, so flowers near the edge come out less flat. A press with bolts applies the same pressure across the whole sheet.
• Changing the paper. In a book it means taking the whole thing apart. In a press you loosen the bolts, swap the sheets and tighten again in under a minute.
• Your books. Every batch costs you a book.

If you are pressing for fun, a book and good paper will serve you well for a long time. If you are pressing flowers from a wedding, a funeral or a first bouquet, use a press. You do not get a second attempt at those.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of book is best for pressing flowers?
Thick, heavy, with uncoated absorbent pages, and one you do not mind damaging. Old dictionaries and phone directories are ideal. Avoid glossy art books, because coated pages trap moisture.

Will pressing flowers ruin my book?
Usually yes to some degree. Pages warp as they take on moisture and may stain. Blotting paper reduces it a lot, but it does not eliminate it.

How long do flowers take to press in a book?
Two to three weeks for most, up to four for thicker blooms. Changing the paper on time speeds it up.

Can I use printer paper instead of blotting paper?
You can, and it is better than nothing because it stops ink transfer. It is not very absorbent, so expect slower drying and more browning.

Can I press several flowers in the same book?
Yes, but leave at least fifty pages between each layer, otherwise they press against each other rather than flat.

Where to go next

The book method is a genuinely good place to start. Give it decent paper and it stops being a compromise.

• A4 Flower Press Paper is the one that fits a book.
• Poppy, our travel press when the book has started to feel like the limiting factor.
• The full beginner's guide if you want the whole method from the start.

Happy pressing. Tag us at @berstukstore, we love seeing what people make.