When bentonite was added to a newspaper furnish during wash deinking the ash content and apparent yield of the deinked pulp increased, probably due to bentonite retention on the pulp fibres. The optical properties of the deinked pulp deteriorated. An alkaline-activated and an organophilic bentonite at 1% addition level achieved speck elimination with minimal deterioration of the deinked pulp optical properties. Simultaneously, the effectiveness of post-bleaching was increased, as the pulp produced was brighter and more effective peroxide utilisation was achieved.