Working with Bates numbering and options

Bates numbering, also referred to as Bates stamping, is a unique system of numbering pages that includes a reference or a code number, a branding image, such as a logo, company name, date, and more, in addition to the sequence of page numbers. It is used in legal and medical professions to quickly identify business receipts, images, documents used in trials, and so on. The original system was invented and patented by Edwin G. Bates in the late 1800s, thus the label for the system. It was a manual stamp with four digits 0000 to 9999 that advanced a rotating wheel each time it was pressed down. The resulting page numbers would be presented in four digits. Page 25, for example, would have had a 0025 stamp.

This invention and the system were adopted by law offices and courts. At that time, it was a great method to organize and identify information. As .pdf files have become the standard digital paper, we depend on a system that supports the electronic...