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.