How to Make a Flower Press for Eco Print Papers

I use this press to flatten my eco printed papers.

Here’s what I used to make the flower press

• Two equal size wood boards (I used an old cabinet door cut in half. You can still see the hardware holes in one of the pieces).

• Four (4) 1/4 in. x 4-inch zinc-plated carriage bolts with matching wing-nuts (I got mine at Home Depot)

• Eight (8) washers

• A drill

• A 3/8 inch drill bit or a little larger. It just has to be bigger than the bolts.

You can make the press any size that fits the prints you usually make. Since my work measures 6” x 9” most of the time, I chose wood that would cut down to two (2) 11” x 12” pieces.

I cut the wood so that both pieces are exactly the same measurements. Or you can have the person in the lumber department of the home center cut the wood for you.

I drilled a hole in the corner of each piece of wood about one-inch from the edge. To make sure the holes matched up, I clamped them together as I drilled the holes. So I only had to drill four holes and not eight.

Put a washer on the outside of the holes, top and bottom.

That’s all there is to it. You can find them on Etsy, too, if you don’t have access to tools.

I use mine whenever I eco-print. The papers are flat when they dry. I have a blog post about that here.

UPDATE:

I learned that by drilling holes in both the top and bottom of the press, the leaves and papers would dry faster.

Do you use a flower press? If you have, please share your experience. Does it help?