The Best Paper for Pressing Flowers (and the Ones That Ruin Them)

Every flower pressing guide tells you to use blotting paper. Almost none of them tell you why, which papers actually work, or how to spot the ones being sold as blotting paper that are not.

Here is the short answer. Blotting paper is the best thing to press flowers with, by a wide margin, and the reason is absorbency. Everything below explains what happens if you use something else.

Why paper decides whether your flowers survive

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. If the paper around it cannot pull the moisture away and hold it, the water sits against the petals. That is what causes browning, translucent patches and mould. It is the same root cause behind almost every pressing failure, which we go through in the beginner's guide.

Blotting paper is unsized, thick and highly absorbent. It pulls moisture away fast, holds it, and leaves no texture behind on the petals. That is the whole job.

Not everything sold as blotting paper is blotting paper

This is worth saying plainly, because it catches a lot of people out.

Plenty of paper is marketed as blotting paper for flower pressing without being absorbent enough to do the job. It looks right, it costs less, and then your flowers go brown anyway and you assume you did something wrong.

Real blotting paper is unsized, which means it has not been treated with the coating that stops ordinary paper soaking things up. It should feel thick and slightly soft rather than smooth, and it should darken visibly where it takes on moisture.

If a sheet still feels crisp and dry after a day pressed against a fresh flower, it is not absorbing. That is the test.

Blotting paper compared with everything else

All of these get recommended somewhere. Here is what each one actually does.

Printing paper

Cheap, everywhere, and acid free, so it will not yellow. It is also the most common thing people reach for.

The problem is absorbency. It takes up a little moisture and then stops, which leaves the rest sitting against your petals and raises the chance of mould. It also warps as it dampens, and it is too thin to reuse. It works, just not well.

Wax paper

Coated in wax, so it is moisture resistant, which is the exact opposite of what pressing needs. It will not draw anything out at all, and the coating can stick to petals and tear them when you separate the layers.

Do not press with it. It is genuinely useful for storing finished flowers, where you want moisture kept out rather than pulled through.

Parchment paper

Also moisture resistant, but heat safe, which makes it the right choice if you are pressing with an iron or a microwave. It is also a good barrier against ink transfer.

For normal slow pressing it has the same flaw as wax paper. It is not absorbing anything.

Japanese paper, washi

Beautiful, strong, acid free and lignin free, so it will not damage flowers over time. It is genuinely lovely to work with.

It is also expensive, harder to find, and no more absorbent than printing paper. Worth it for mounting and display, not for the pressing itself.

Kitchen paper towel

Absorbent, cheap, already in your kitchen. On absorbency alone it is the closest of the alternatives.

The catch is the quilting. That embossed pattern presses itself into your petals and it does not come out. If you are pressing something you want to keep or frame, that texture is permanent.

Newspaper

Absorbent and free, and people have used it for a century. It also transfers ink onto damp petals, which is permanent, and it is thin enough that you need many layers to get anywhere.

How much paper you actually need

More than people expect, and this is the part that decides whether it works.

Change the paper after 24 hours. The first day is when a flower gives up most of its moisture, and by the end of it your bottom sheet is damp. Leave it there and you are storing your flower in a wet environment for the next three weeks.

Swap again after another two or three days, then roughly weekly until it is done.

So a single batch goes through several sheets. That is normal, and it is why buying paper properly matters more than buying a fancier press. Dry paper is doing the actual work.

You can reuse sheets. Let them dry out completely and they are good for several rounds. Retire one once it is stained or feels limp rather than crisp.

Which size to buy

There is a shortcut, and then there are two sensible answers that cover almost everybody.

The shortcut: if you already own a press, our paper finder will tell you which pack fits it, including presses we did not make and pressing in a book. Two of our packs are cut to size, so there is no measuring at all.

If you are pressing inside a book, A4 sheets are the easy choice. They fit most large hardbacks with room at the edges.

If you are pressing in an actual press, buy the XL refills. At 14.7 by 11.2 inches they are large enough to cut down to fit any press you own, ours or anyone else's, so one pack covers everything instead of buying a different size for each press.

Trimming a larger sheet down works perfectly. Piecing smaller sheets together does not, because the seam leaves a line across the petals. When in doubt, buy bigger and cut.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just use printer paper?
You can, and it half works. Expect slower drying, more browning and a higher chance of mould, especially with anything thick or juicy.

Can I reuse blotting paper?
Yes. Dry it out fully between uses and it lasts several rounds. Replace it when it is stained or has gone limp.

How many sheets do I need for one batch?
At least four, because you are changing them at 24 hours, again a few days later, then weekly. Two sheets means pressing in damp paper.

Will the XL sheets fit my press?
Yes, whatever press you have. They are made oversized on purpose so you can cut them down to fit. Scissors and a straight edge, one minute. If you would rather not cut anything, the paper finder shows which of our packs comes ready to drop in.

Does the paper stop my flowers going brown?
It is the biggest single factor. Browning is moisture damage, so absorbent paper changed on time prevents most of it. More on that in why pressed flowers turn brown.

Do I need a press, or will a book do?
A book and good paper will get you started today. See pressing flowers in a book for the method, and move to a press when you want more capacity or you are pressing something irreplaceable.

The short version

Use real blotting paper. Change it after the first 24 hours. Everything else is detail.

• XL Blotting Paper Refills if you are pressing in a press. Cut them down to fit whatever you own.
• A4 Flower Press Paper if you are pressing inside a book.
• Poppy, our travel press if a book has started to feel like the limiting factor.

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