C 6.17. Blooms; calcite deposits
C6 damage sub-categories:
C 6.1. Rust accretion, foxing
C 6.2. Glass-like layers
C 6.3. Stains, accretion
C 6.3.1. Handling marks
C 6.3.2. Ink stains
C 6.4. Ink corrosion
C 6.5. Ink loss; fading
C 6.6. Offset
C 6.7. Ink flake off; detachment of the parchment
C 6.8. Tears, splits
C 6.9. Pleats
C 6.10. Cockling
C 6.11. Curling
C 6.12. Pleats, double folds
C 6.13. Folds
C 6.14. Contraction, shrinkage
C 6.15. Internal loss
C 6.16. Edge loss
C 6.17. Blooms; calcite deposits
C 6.18. Micro-biological damage, mould, grazing
C 6.19. Brittleness
C 6.20. Rigidity, stiffness
A general term is used to describe any whitish or greyish deposit on the surface of a document – blooms.
If there is reason to believe that calcite is deposited on the surface of the degraded parchment, the damage is called deposits, for short.
Visual rigidity, fragility and glass-like areas of parchment are an indication of parchment degradation, i.e. changes in the chemical properties and a decrease in physical strength and hydrothermal stability. The process is often accompanied by white deposits, i.e. the formation of calcite (crystallized mineral CaCO3) and/or gypsum (CaSO4 + 2H2O) on the parchment surface.