Introduction:
Congratulations on choosing the Microfleur
flower press. Please read these instructions
carefully. With a little practice you will soon
be pressing flowers, leaves, and other pieces
of flora in just minutes, using Microfleur and
your microwave oven.
Description of Microfleur:
Your Microfleur kit should contain:
A 2 platens
B 2 clips (4 clips for the MAX)
C 1 fill-pack, consisting of:
2 pads
2 fabric sheets
The fill-pack is packed in a plastic bag which
is used for storage only and must not be used
in the microwave oven.
Precautions:
The normal safety precautions printed in your
microwave oven manual should be followed
when using your Microfleur. In particular,
you should use care when handling your
Microfleur after exposure to microwaves, as
hot vapours are generated during drying.
Do not use metal objects such as pins,
staples, paper clips, wire or metal foil in or
on your Microfleur. This also applies to
metallic paints and glitter, which are
sometimes used on bridal bouquets and other
decorative floral arrangements.
Microfleur must not be used to heat food or
allowed to come in direct contact with food
or used in the microwave over while food is
being cooked.
After using your Microfleur, wipe the inside
surfaces of your oven with a damp cloth to
remove any condensed vapours or residue.
Using the Microwave Oven:
Any normal household microwave oven is
suitable for using your Microfleur. Do not
use in conventional ovens. If your oven is a
combination microwave/convection oven,
make sure the oven is cooled to room
temperature before using it for Microfleur
flower pressing. Your microwave should be
used on the “high” (full power) setting.
When pressing very dry specimens, or when
specimens are approaching the final stages of
drying, it may be advisable to place a
container of water in the oven with your
Microfleur.
If you oven cannot be accurately set for
seconds timing, you should use a watch or
clock with a second hand or digital timer, and
switch the oven controls manually.
Loading the Microfleur:
Place 1 platen ribbed side down on the bench,
place one pad on top and then one piece of
fabric on top of the pad.
Place the specimens to be pressed on the
fabric sheet making sure they sit flat and do
not overlap or touch each other. It is
advisable to load similar specimens for on
pressing, rather than different types of
specimens together. You can load as many
specimens as will fit within the fabric liners,
so long as they do not touch or overlap.
Carefully place the second fabric sheet, pad
and platen (ripped side up) on top of these.
(See fig. 1)
Apply a little pressure to the top platen while
you slide the two clips into place on opposite
sides of the platens, so the whole assembly as
firmly held together with the clips. (See fig.
2)
Do not overload your Microfleur with
specimens. The clips are designed to slide on
fairly easily. Forcing the clips on when the
Microfleur is overfilled could result in
permanent distortion of the platens.
Your Microfleur is now ready to put in the
microwave.
Pressing times:
There a number of factors which will
influence the time needed for pressing. The
most important factors are the power of the
microwave and the amount of fluids
contained in the specimens to be dried.
Lower powered ovens (500 watts) will
require longer times than higher powered
models (1000 watts). Fleshy or moist flowers
will take longer than dry flowers and leaves.
Specimens should be dried in stages, starting
with an initial burst, and followed by as many
shorter bursts as needed to completely dry the
specimen. As a guideline, initial bursts
should be about 45 seconds for a 600W oven,
30 seconds for 750W and 20 seconds for a
900W. Secondary bursts should be about half
to one third of the initial burst.
Specimens may partially dry after they are
picked, or if they are picked after lengthy
periods of exposure to strong winds, sun, or
low humidity. Under these circumstances, or
when pressing any specimen for the first
time, it is advisable to reduce the suggested
initial burst time by half.
If you are using a container of water in your
oven (see section on “Using the Microwave
Oven”) you will need to extend your
exposure times considerably, probably about
double the times you would use without
water.
There are a number of advantages in using
short bursts of drying instead of a single
continuous period:
o The method gives better control over the
final product
o Where specimens have thick and thin
portions (e.g. calyx and petals) the thicker
parts can be dried progressively without
destroying the thinner portions
o Some rearrangement of petals and other
parts is possible while the specimen still
retain some moisture.
The aim is to obtain a reasonably stiff
specimen which resists drooping and has a
dry or ‘papery’ feeling when touched. After
the specimen is cool, touching between the
thumb and forefinger, or to the lip, is a god
way to determine whether moisture is still
present.
Excessive drying will result in brittleness,
particularly for thin specimens and parts such
and leaves and petals, and eventually these
parts will scorch if the exposure time is too
long. Freshly picked specimens will take
longer to dry than specimens which have
been cut and allowed to stand. Fresh
specimens are less prone to burning except
where they have been exposed to lengthy
periods of strong winds and sun.
With practice it is possible to press quite
large and succulent flowers with Microfleur,
including such things as whole roses,
chrysanthemums, and camellias. Because of
the amount of moisture in these, it can take
several minutes to them successfully, but this
should be done in stages. “Resting” the
specimen by opening Microfleur, and
allowing it to stand for 20 – 30 seconds
between bursts, assists the process by
allowing excess vapours to be ventilated
naturally. Exposure times should be
shortened to 10, or even 5 seconds, as the
specimen approaches the final stages of
drying.
Useful hints:
Not all flowers and parts of plants can be
successfully pressed using Microfleur. In
general, anything which can be pressed by
conventional methods can be pressed in the
Microfleur. The advantages of using
Microfleur are that results are almost
immediate, and colour retention is usually
very good.
With practice you will learn the best
specimens to use with your Microfleur.
Large or fleshy specimens like lilies, tulips,
magnolias, begonias, and some impatiens are
difficult, or impossible to press. Squeezing
the petals between the fingers is a good test.
If squeezing produces liquid, then the result
is not likely to be very good, however this is
not always the case, as flowers like jonquils,
daffodils and some orchids can be pressed
quite successfully with Microfleur.
For difficult shapes such as orchids, iris and
flowers with bulky receptacles or long
trumpet-like shapes, you may consider
dismantling the flower and pressing the
components, or cutting them so they lay
reasonably flat. These can then be used to
reconstruct the flower in a display, or create
your own design.
Pressed flowers tend to lose their colour in
time. Factors which affect fading are:
exposure to light, density of colour, thickness
and cell structure of the plant.
Some colours such as certain reds, violet
shades, and some greens, and stronger
colours may bleed in some variegated
flowers.
Some leaves tend to lose their green
colouring and turn to autumn shades. In
some cases, this can be due to overdrying, but
it is also unavoidable with certain leaves.
It is best to start with simple, flat specimens
with a single layer of petals, and develop
experience before trying more complicated
specimens. Make sure the specimens you
wish to press are fresh and dry (no visible
signs of moisture). Newly opened specimens
are less likely to brown than old flowers or
fronds.
Buds may be sliced into half, and thick stems
may be shaved down using a sharp blade so
they sit flat. Thick flowers such as
chrysanthemum, aster and gerbera, can
usually be pressed successfully in the
Microfleur, without trimming the calyx.
Don’t limit yourself to flowers. Try herbs,
leaves, stems, petals, stamens and other
pieces. Fern fronds and tendrils from
climbers or creepers make excellent
decorations and adornments.
If you have trouble removing your pressed
flowers from the fabric, try gently stretching
the fabric in several directions to aid their
release.
Use flat nosed tweezers or forceps when
handling your specimens, and after pressing
store your specimens between sheets of paper
or in folders for future use.
Pressed flowers can be used for many
purposes, such as personalised stationery,
cards, bookmarks, menus, etc. They can be
mounted and framed, laminated or used for
decoupage.
There a number of craft books available with
instructions and suggestions, but don’t allow
your imagination to be limited by other
people’s ideas.
To glue your specimens onto paper, card, etc
try any good quality PVA clear-drying glue or
rubber cement. Use a small artist’s paint
brush, or tooth pick, satay stick or similar, to
apply the glue.
Care of your Microfleur:
Your Microfleur platens and clips should be
wiped with a damp cloth after use, and dried
before storage.
The fabric liners of the fill-pack are made of
cotton lawn which should be washed and
ironed regularly to remove stains.
Alternatively they can be replaced with good
quality pure cotton material.
The pads should not be washed even though
they will become stained. The pads will last
for many hundreds of cycles with normal use;
however they gradually deteriorate and will
need to be replaced. They may also become
damaged by scorching if excessive drying
times are used.
Replacement fill-packs are available from
your distributor. Use of non-genuine pads
could result in excessive temperatures, and
could void your warranty.
Warranty:
Any Microfleur found to be defective in
materials or workmanship will be replaced
free of charge when returned to the
distributor in its original box.
This warranty is effective for one year from
the date of purchase and is extended to the
original purchaser only. Damage caused by
improper use or handling is excluded from
the warranty. Fill-pack materials are
consumable materials and shall be replaced at
the user’s cost. Transportation costs on
Microfleur units submitted for replacement
must be born by the purchaser.
No other warranties are expressed or implied.
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