Paper is easily damaged by rough handling, being rolled and folded or put into a drawer where it gets pushed around. Tears are repaired using Japanese paper and conservation quality starch paste as an adhesive. If the damage is extensive, as was the case with the map of the farm, the image can be pieced together first using strips of Japanese paper and then the whole thing is lined using the same materials. Any holes and missing areas are filled using paper that is as close to the original as possible. These are toned to match the original or painted in to hide them.

Paper that has become creased or wavy, often described as cockled, can be flattened using a variety of methods once the paper has been relaxed by getting it slightly damp. In cases where the creases are particularly bad or the paper has cracked along them it can be best to line the artefact with Japanese paper and starch paste and then stretch it out while it dries, which is how the cartoon (below) was treated once the sellotape had been removed and the tears repaired.