Overall, this process is very inefficient compared to filing the native electronic file. It is far preferable to keep the document in its native digital format throughout the process, creating a temporary paper copy only as necessary for reading purposes. Another factor militating in favor of straight electronic filing, bypassing the paper stage, is file size. To provide a suitable financial incentive for the preferable electronic filing approach, a court might decide to impose a user fee on materials filed in paper format, but not on electronic filings. Even if a court does not adopt universal electronic filing, it may wish to encourage litigants to use such a system for selected complex cases.
Document imaging is an excellent way to handle the paper load of a large and complex lawsuit.
Handling and storing a multitude of exhibits is extremely cumbersome when those exhibits are on paper. If the litigants choose to use document imaging for the collection and display of exhibits, the court should be amenable to using the CD as the sole means by which the exhibits are kept on file during any subsequent appeals process. There are a number of different ways that scanned images may be saved and displayed. Since the files are image files, any graphics package is able to manage and display them. A PDF file can consist of one or several hundred pages, and the contents can be bookmarked and annotated using the full Acrobat program marketed by Adobe.