Under the spotlight: A new tool (artificial light radiation) to bleach paper documents Reyes Pérez, Ana Espejo Arias, María Teresa Blanc García, María Rosario Escolano, Amparo Gómez Hernández, Nuria Paper Bleaching Artificial light radiation Calcium hydroxide Hydrogen peroxide This work was supported by the research group "Ciencia y Cultura del Patrimonio"(HUM-1057) and the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad in the framework of the I + D research project "Nuevas alternativas al conocimiento de los materiales y los procesos de conservacion y restauracion de obra grafica y patrimonio documental"(REF.MAT2014-58659-P). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. This study offers a new tool to restorers to bleach paper documents: artificial light radiation (ALR). It is a controlled method that is an alternative to other highly aggressive procedures that have been applied to cellulose based media. Its main novelty is its intrinsic lighting characteristics which guarantee uniformity and avoid heating the paper. The results of testing this new tool were compared to those of bleaching with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Each of the two methods was applied to five different types of widely used paper: Arches and Somerset (brands serving for engraving and digital printing), Ingres (drawing), press-type (magazines and newspapers) and Bible-type (historical documents). Once characterised by physico-mechanical, chemical and optical parameters (grammage, thickness, specular gloss, optical properties, air permeance, tensile properties, determining the pH of both surface and aqueous extracts), the different papers were bleached by the two methods according to pre-established criteria. Finally, to determine the evolution and effects of the two treatments, the papers were subjected to accelerated ageing. 2021-12-16T13:19:59Z 2021-12-16T13:19:59Z 2021-11 journal article A.R. Pérez, T.E. Arias, M.R.B. García et al. Under the spotlight: A new tool (artificial light radiation) to bleach paper documents. Journal of Cultural Heritage 52 (2021) 184–191. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2021.10.005] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/72096 10.1016/j.culher.2021.10.005 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ open access Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España Elsevier