GENERAL

INFO.

 

If you need to attach a document to support the pleading you are filing, and you did not create the supporting document on your own computer, then it will probably be necessary for you to scan the document to convert it to .pdf format.

 

It is preferable when scanning a document to create the smallest possible .pdf file size.  This will benefit both the attorneys doing the filing and the courts.  Smaller .pdf files take up less storage space, they upload more quickly, and they can be opened more quickly for review.

 

 

 

SCAN QUALITY AND SCANNER SETTINGS

 

The quality of the scanned document is determined, in part, by the quality of the original.  For example, sometimes a copy of a dot matrix document will scan better than the original dot matrix printout.

 

The level of detail recorded by the scanner also determines the quality of the scanned document.  This is called resolution, which is measured by the dots per inch (dpi).  The higher the dpi setting, the slower the document will scan.  Also, a higher dpi setting will create a larger file size, which is not good.

 

To create small-sized files, the dpi setting should be 200 (with an increase to 300, if necessary, because the original document’s quality is poor).

 

 

 

MODE OR FORMAT AND FILE SIZE

 

The scanner’s mode should be set for black and white.  This creates a much smaller file size than grayscale or color.

 

If your document is mostly text, the file size should be about 50 kb per page or less.  A very detailed page with graphics should be no more than about 200 kb in size.

 

 

 

MAXIMUM FILE SIZE

 

The maximum size file that can be filed in the USBC for the EDKY is
4 Mb per document/attachment.  If you attempt to upload a file larger than 4 Mb, the system will force you to stop the filing and you must follow the instructions contained in the system’s message when it halts the upload.

 

 

 

SAMPLE SCANNER SETTINGS

 

“Image Type” and “Resolution” settings should be similar to those shown on the screen below.

 

 

“Format” or “Destination” settings should be .pdf format.

 

 

 

 

PREFERRED METHOD FOR SCANNING

 

The court recommends that you scan directly into .pdf format using Adobe Acrobat.  This method is preferred because it creates the smallest file size and it is the most efficient.  If you scan into a different format (such as .tiff or TIFF/CCITT) you will have added delay and added labor because after scanning, you will then have to convert the document to .pdf format.

 

The instructions below show the steps for scanning directly into .pdf format using Adobe Acrobat 5.0.

 

 

 

STEP 1

 

Start Adobe Acrobat 5.0 by double-clicking its icon.

 

 

 

STEPS

2 - 4

 

Click “File”, then rest your mouse on “Import”, and then click “Scan”.

 

 

 

 

STEP 5

 

A dialog box similar to the one below will display now.

 

 

Use the  button next to “Device” to choose the scanner that you are using if it does not default to the correct scanning device.

 

 

 

 

STEP 6

 

Click the  button and begin scanning your document after you have verified that the scan will be into .pdf format.

 

Depending upon your scanner, there may be one or two more dialog boxes displayed next for additional input.

 

Click the  button until you have scanned all the document pages.

 

 

 

STEP 7

 

After scanning is complete, click the  button.

 

 

 

STEP 8

 

Save your file by selecting “File” and then “Save” from the menu bar.

 

Select a filename and location and click the  button.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

 

 

QUESTION:

 

If my scanner will only convert documents to .tiff format, how can I convert the image to .pdf format?

 

 

 

ANSWER:

 

There is a freeware program called “c42pdf.exe” that will convert .tiff files into .pdf files.  This software can be downloaded from www.pdfzone.com or you can purchase similar software from www.activepdf.com .

 

The Adobe “Capture” package can also convert .tiff files to .pdf format.

 

 

 

 

QUESTION:

 

What is OCR scanning and must I do OCR scanning?

 

 

 

ANSWER:

 

OCR is the acronym for “optical character recognition”.  The OCR process converts an image (or picture) of a document into an actual text document.  For example, if your document contains a small oval object, the software would make its best guess as to what letter of the alphabet that oval actually is meant to be and would substitute that letter for the oval.  Hopefully, it would guess that the small oval was a small letter “o”. 

 

The problem with OCR converting is that it is only about 95 – 97% accurate.  For example, it could think that the small letter “o” was actually a zero.  Therefore, it would be necessary for you to review and fix any mistakes in the converted-to-text document.  This would be very time consuming for the attorney or staff member.

 

The court does NOT require you to do OCR scanning.  The one situation where you might wish to do OCR scanning is if you have an extremely large pleading that will exceed the 4 Mb maximum.  A document that has been converted from a picture to text by the OCR process is usually about 1/16th the size of the original scanned image.  In other words, the text .pdf file will be about 16 times smaller than the image .pdf file was.

 

If you wish to do OCR scanning, Adobe has a package called “Capture” that will convert an image into text.