How do you prepare a court bundle for printing?
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Send the court bundle as one PDF in final order, say whether it can print double-sided, and give the date and time it has to be at the court. A court bundle printed double-sided is half the block, and the block is what decides which binding closes around it. With files and payment in by 21:00 a bundle is printed, bound and ready before 9am the next morning, subject to that night’s capacity — court bundle printing runs on the same night shift as the rest of our 24 hour printing.
Written by Maciej Antosz, Production Manager at Silver Image London ·
Court bundles, trial bundles and hearing bundles arrive here in a recognisable shape: the deadline is a hearing date, the page count runs into the hundreds, it is usually one copy, and black and white is enough. Trial bundle printing and hearing bundle printing are the same job here under a different name. What changes the job is how ready the file is when it lands, and this guide answers the questions that decide that, in the order solicitors and litigants in person ask them.
How thick a court bundle can we bind?
A court bundle up to 300 sheets comes back as one wire-bound volume — printed double-sided that is a 600-page bundle. Double-sided is what brings most trial bundles inside that number: the same document on both sides is half the block, and the block is what the binding has to close around.
Above that, punching for a ring binder carries any page count, and a single-sided bundle small enough still binds normally. Which route a bundle takes is settled at the quote, once we have the page count, the sided-ness and what the court will accept — and the quote carries the time with it.
Which binding for which page count
| Method | Capacity | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Wire binding | Up to 300 sheets, so 600 pages double-sided | Bundles that must lie flat and open at any page |
| Comb binding | 20–400 pages, so up to 200 sheets double-sided | Bundles where a page may be swapped after binding |
| Corner or edge staple | Up to around 200 sheets | Exhibits and shorter sets filed in sections |
| Punched for a ring binder | Any page count, split across binders by their capacity | Bundles above 300 sheets, and anything going into binders you supply |
Bundles print on 90 gsm, our standard stock for documents — a whiter sheet, better colour on photographic exhibits and crisper black on text, which is what a bundle read under court lighting needs. Tabbed dividers and index tabs go in at the punching stage, so ask for them with the quote rather than after the bundle is bound. Skeleton arguments, chronologies and stapled booklets filed alongside the bundle are produced in the same run.
One file or several, and who sets the pagination?
Send several files numbered in the order you want them and they are printed in that order. Merging files does not renumber anything: page numbers and the index stay exactly as you exported them. Send one PDF and it prints as it stands, so set the pagination before the bundle comes over and the printed numbers match your index.
You decide what goes into the bundle; we make sure it comes out the way you built it. If you are unsure what to export, the file format guide covers what a print-ready PDF means in practice.
Can you work from paper originals?
Yes — litigation copying starts from paper as often as from a PDF. Send or bring the originals and they are copied single or double-sided, in colour or black and white, at the same counts. Legal document scanning to searchable PDF means the finished bundle can be word-searched, which pays for itself when the same papers are read again the night before the hearing. Ordinary document printing and bundle work run on the same machines, so a job can be part copy, part reprint.
How does the bundle get to the court on the day?
Give the address exactly as the court wrote it, plus the time the bundle has to be there, and send both with the quote rather than on the morning — some court addresses are post boxes rather than delivery points, and that is worth knowing early. Delivery goes by named courier with a signed proof of delivery, which records who received the parcel and when — it is a delivery record, not a filing receipt. Tell us the name the bundle should be handed to and the hours that address accepts a courier, and both go on the quote.
Regular runs go to the Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court, to chambers along Fleet Street, to firms in Holborn and to the City of London. Collection from our London print shop is arranged around your arrival time — call before you set off after 8pm.
What if the bundle only exists at 9pm?
A bundle with files and payment in by 21:00 is normally printed and bound before 9am, subject to that night’s capacity; the delivery slot after that is agreed with the quote, not assumed. That is the ordinary overnight printing run, not a favour: the press works through the night, and printing at night explains what happens to a file sent at 9pm. Where the hearing is later in the week, same day or next day is worth deciding deliberately rather than by default.
Checklist before you send the bundle
- Date and time the bundle has to be at the court, and the hearing date behind it.
- Single or double-sided — double-sided halves the block and widens what can be bound.
- Page count and copies — one copy is normal, and so are five.
- Colour or black and white, and whether any exhibits must stay in colour.
- Binding or punched, plus tabbed dividers if the bundle is sectioned.
- File order if you are sending more than one file.
- Delivery address as the court wrote it, or the collection time you want.
- An NDA if you want one signed before the file is opened — there is a standard form if you do not have your own.
Q&A
Do you print for litigants in person as well as firms?
Yes. A single trial bundle for one person is a normal job here, on the same counts and the same night shift as work for chambers and solicitors.
Can a hearing bundle be reprinted if a page changes the night before?
Yes, and comb binding is the method to ask for if you expect it — a comb opens, takes the replacement page and closes again, where a wire spine does not.
What happens to the file after the bundle is printed?
Files are deleted once the job is complete and print waste is shredded rather than binned. The detail, including who has access to the file, is in can you print confidential documents the same day.
Where else can I get a document printed at short notice in London?
Our own answer, with what to send and how long each route takes, is in where to print documents in London.
Turnaround, binding options and what a quote covers are on the confidential and legal document printing service page.
Send the bundle
Send the PDF with the hearing date, the page count, whether it can print double-sided and where it has to be handed in. The quote comes back with the binding, the ready time and the delivery slot on it. Ask for the NDA first if you need one — it is signed before the file is opened.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Files and payment by 21:00 are normally ready before 9am the next morning, subject to that night’s capacity.
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