Due to trends in papermaking like closed water systems or higher use of recovered paper (RP) as a raw material, a large number of contaminants are accumulated in the system as dissolved and colloidal material (DCM). When the DCM is destabilised by a sudden change in the system conditions, it produces sticky deposits, called secondary stickies that affect the papermaking processes and the quality of the final product. The existing laboratory methods to predict DCM destabilisation have limitations such as low reproducibility or they do not distinguish between sticky and non-sticky materials or high volumes are necessary to perform the test. In order to solve these problems, a methodology to predict the depositability potential of DCM has been developed by the Complutense University of Madrid. The methodology incorporates the destabilisation of the DCM by polymer addition, DCM deposition on collector surfaces and the quantification of the formed deposits by image analysis. Results show that the methodology has good reproducibility with a margin of error less than 10%. The methodology was applied to study: the potential of different formulations of adhesives to form stickies; the formation of deposits with different contaminant types and several concentrations; the efficiency of deposit control agents and the behaviours of different recovered paper grades. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.