Nettoyage mécanique électrostatique et numérisation simultanée des deux faces de documents historiques sur papier

Abstract

Cleaning the surfaces of cultural artefacts on paper is a vaguely defined procedure in conservation. In general, however, the term refers to removing from paper surfaces contaminants that are not attached to the paper. A machine-assisted treatment method has been recently developed to remove dust and biological contaminants from paper, photographic materials and textiles. It can be used to clean large stocks efficiently and without mechanical impact on the object surfaces. Contaminant removal is performed by frictionless application of an electrostatic foil. The method is limited to the removal of particles from surfaces and/or from indentations in the surface textures of papers and textiles. However, It is not suitable for removing any discolouration that has penetrated into the depth of the material, contaminants that are caked together with the surface, or in-grown biological contaminants. Hence, improvement of the visual aesthetic appearance of objects will be achieved only to a limited extent. The technology allows removal of dust contaminants from both sides, even from very delicate surfaces, while entirely keeping existing drawing and writing materials or pigment layers intact. Approximately 80 objects per hour can be processed, each having a width of one meter and a length of 1.50 meters. The system is a device which is expandable by modules, and two digitization units have been recently added to its technical equipment, digitizing both sides of each object in one cycle combined with the cleaning process. The advantages and limits of this technology will be shown by means of examples, as will be the methodology of quality management and control of the cleaning process, which has also been newly developed