Tips for drying your paper

The most professional looking paper is made by drying your paper in a press. You can make a makeshift press using a stack of books. Put couch sheets on either side of your paper and stack them up with books on top. Change out the couch sheets every few hours or as often as possible. If time is not a factor leave it in the makeshift press overnight or longer. The press really works well because it is using more pressure than a stack of books.

One way to dry your paper quickly is to iron it. It is important to use a press cloth (an old handkerchief or dish towel works great!) and press down holding the iron still for a few seconds. Rubbing back and forth could cause the paper to pill. It helps to turn the paper over a few times.

To get kind of an "orange peel" texture to your paper you can skip the sponging altogether and put the wet paper, while it is on the white papermaking screen, out in the sun to dry. If it curls up, you can press it in our press or under a stack of books when dry and not lose the texture.

And finally if you are working with kids a great way to awe them is to suggest that they slap their newly formed sheets up against the window. When the paper is dry in a few hours or days it will peel away. It is fun to watch the sloppy mess turn into a beautiful sheet of paper with a glazed surface.