comparison
BatesNumbers vs WalkingPDF
BatesNumbers is a single-purpose numbering tool: it puts a Bates stamp on your files, quickly and at a low price. WalkingPDF does not stamp anything. It reads a finished set and tells you whether the numbering, the page ranges and the load file agree. Buying numbering when the problem is verification is the mistake this page exists to prevent - and buying verification when you have not numbered anything yet is the same mistake in reverse.
The one-line difference
Numbering answers "put an identifier on every page". Checking answers "is this set internally consistent, and can I prove it". A number that was applied in the wrong order satisfies the first question and fails the second.
When each is the right purchase
- You have files and no numbers yet: you need a numbering tool. That is not us at launch.
- You have a numbered set that is about to be served: you need a check, and a certificate that says what was checked.
- You have both problems: number first, then check. The check is the cheaper of the two to skip and the more expensive to get wrong.
What the check adds that numbering cannot
A certificate carrying the manifest hash, the rules that ran, and the rules that did not. Numbering tools do not issue those, because numbering is not a claim about correctness. If a set is challenged, "we numbered it" is not an answer; "here is what was checked, and here is the hash" is.
Frequently asked questions
Will you ever number files?
Stamping and renumbering are Prepare capabilities and are not shipped at launch. We do not claim them today.
Can I check a set numbered by BatesNumbers?
Yes. The audit reads the stamps from the pages; it does not care which tool applied them.