The effect of exposure of paper samples to UV light was monitored by use of ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy and multivariate statistical tools. Three types of paper were tested: common laser-printer paper, news print, and thermal fax paper. The samples were first characterised by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy to determine natural experimental variability. They were then exposed to UV light for 30 h and the effects of the exposure were monitored by use of the same spectroscopic technique. Finally, multivariate statistical tools were applied to the final dataset, coupled with construction of multivariate control charts, to identify the effects of UV light on the sample surfaces.