Bates stamping, applied as the pages are captured.
Legal work needs a sequential number on every page, in the same place, in the firm's own format. Doing it with a scanner's built-in imprinter or endorser means buying a much more expensive scanner. SimpleIndex stamps the Bates number electronically as each page is scanned or imported, so a production set is numbered, named and searchable before anyone opens it. It's included in both editions and licensed once.
Setting up a Bates number takes four steps.
Add a Bates number field
In the Job Settings Wizard, add an Autonumber index field and type the first number with your prefix, such as ABC000001. SimpleIndex keeps the prefix and the leading zeros as it counts.
Count every page, and carry on
Set the field to count up on every page and to save its value after each batch, so the next batch and the next production volume start where the last one stopped. Output single-page files while numbering. With the Concordance export preset that is the finished production, because the OPT file marks where each document starts. If the recipient wants multi-page PDFs instead, combine the pages afterwards.
Stamp it on the page
In the Imprinting step, choose the Bates field as the imprint value, then set the X and Y position, measured from the top-left or the bottom-right corner, and the font size.
Run the batch
Every page saved to the output folder carries its own Bates number, applied electronically to the image or PDF.
More than Bates numbers
The same electronic imprinting, or endorsing, puts a scan date, a copyright notice, a confidentiality legend or any other text on each page. The stamp can also carry the file name or an index value, such as a matter or client number.
Stamp every page or only the first page of each document. Write it as an annotation when someone may need to hide or change it later, or into the image itself when it has to stay put. Depending on the output format, the stamp can also be rotated or made semi-transparent.
For PDFs, SimpleIndex can also apply a semi-transparent image watermark, such as a logo, or stamp a QR code that holds every index value of the document.
Production sets that are ready to send
Every page gets a searchable text layer in the same pass, and files are named by the values you index. SimpleIndex 12 also ships a Concordance export preset that writes the load files with the images: a DAT file with one row per document (BEGDOC, ENDDOC, page count, and the PREFIX and VOLUME you set once) and an OPT image cross-reference with one row per page that marks where each document starts. Relativity and other review platforms import the same format. SimpleIndex splits the stack into documents the usual way, by barcode separator sheets, blank pages, a pen mark or a fixed number of pages, and each document becomes one row in the DAT file.
For the rest of a firm's document work, from case file audits to practice management integration, see legal document scanning.
Before you number a production.
What is a Bates stamp?
A unique, sequential number printed on every page of a document set, usually with a prefix, so each page can be cited and tracked in litigation. Applying it is also called Bates numbering.
Do I need a scanner with an imprinter?
No. The number is applied electronically to the saved image or PDF, so any TWAIN or ISIS scanner works (ISIS needs Professional or the ISIS add-on).
Can I choose where the number goes?
Yes. You set the X and Y position, measured from the top-left or the bottom-right corner, along with the font size. The number of digits comes from the starting number you enter, so ABC000001 stays six digits.
Which edition do I need?
Either. Imprinting is included in Standard ($600) and Professional ($1,800).
Does it write load files for review platforms?
Yes. The Concordance export preset writes a DAT file with one row per document and an OPT image cross-reference with one row per page that marks where each document starts, a format Relativity and other review platforms also import.
Does the numbering continue from one batch to the next?
Yes. With the Bates field set to save its value after each batch, the next batch and the next volume pick up at the following number, even after the job is closed.
Try it on your next production.
The free trial runs the full software on your own documents.
