This A3 size press is small enough to take into the field with you but still big enough to cover a large variety of plant morphologies. Some of the bigger leaf and stem types might not be suitable and require a different and special approach. Think banana for instance.

It is best to press your plant specimen shortly after collecting it, before wilting begins.

Your specimens should be carefully laid out on the drying paper and their shape gently manipulated into a flat but representative appearance. Flowers should be spread out with the petals carefully arranged, and out-hanging leaves should be removed. Cut at the leaf blade if possible to retain the leaf arrangement. The same approach may be needed where many shoots make the specimen too bushy to flatten but these can be cut back right to the stem. If collecting several specimens, it can be good to attach a tag with information such as location and date, to the specimen. Place another sheet of drying paper on top of the specimen. The corrugated paper and the cardboard sheets help air circulate and can be placed at intervals as you add more specimens. Juicy specimens will require more frequent interleaving of the corrugated paper and cardboard to help both drying and flattening. Moisture and mould are the hazards when creating good voucher specimens. Original plant moisture content and ambient humidity will affect drying success, so how often you change the drying paper will depend on these variables but generally a couple of paper changes and two weeks pressing should be adequate to obtain a good specimen.