Chey, I always try and be sure my foliage & flowers are picked when there's no dew on them. The thicker petals of some flowers might need checking every day, moving to fresh paper page.

I wonder if encyclopedia pages are thick enough...mine are sort of slick finish too which might not absorb quickly. Could you try an old phone book or cheap paperback books are good (found at yardsales sometimes even free for the taking).

One other thought: are you turning over several pages between adding flowers? The quicker moisture is absorbed the better the color, and the less the liklihood of sticking.

And one more thought...I reuse my phonebooks but I stand them on edge in warm dry place to be sure no moisture remains before reuse. A couple of times I've had mildew form on pages/flowers (Azaleas)...just tossed the book and the flowers...to be sure midew spores didn't stay around.

I really don't press as many flowers as I do foliage...(except for tiny weed things). Hope someone else will chime in with their experience. josh

Thanks for responding! I do use the flowers as dry as I can. It's mostly thinner petaled flowers that I have trouble with. I remember last year struggling with morning glory flowers. This year it is the poppies.

I will try turning them everyday. The enclycopedias are older pages, not shiny. Thicker than phone book pages, I think.

Chey