The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has been working with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), regarding archival preservation and continued use of the scanned images in the Judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case File System (CM/ECF). There is a need to have a scanning resolution that produces a high quality document with a file size that will not hamper the length of time it takes to scan, load and retrieve documents.

In the past, the recommendation from NARA was set at 200 dots per inch (dpi). Since that time, however, NARA has published higher standards for scanning resolution, which better support archival preservation. In efforts to assist NARA in preserving and continuing the use of scanned images in the Judiciary's Case Management/Electronic Case File System, we are asking for your assistance in this effort. It is strongly recommended (although not required) that scanner settings of 300 pixels per inch (ppi) or higher be used for any scanned documents submitted to the court on CM/ECF. See guidance below.

NARA 's Acceptable Image Quality Specifications:

3.2.1 Bitonal (1-bit) scanned at 300 - 600 ppi

This is appropriate for documents that consist exclusively of clean printed type possessing high inherent contrast (e.g., laser printed or typeset on a white background Scanning at 600 ppi is recommended.

3.2.2 Gray sale (8-bit) scanned at 300 - 400 ppi

This is appropriate for textual documents of poor legibility because of low inherent contrast, staining or fading (e.g., carbon copies, thermofax, or documents with handwritten annotations or other markings), or that contain halftone illustrations or photographs. Scanning at 400 ppi is recommended.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact our ECF Help Desk.