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The London Archives will be closing for Christmas at 4.30pm on Monday 23 December. We reopen at 10am on Thursday 2 January 2025.

Funded and Managed by
City of London Corporation

Copying services for documents and images

Requesting copies of items in the archive
staff-editing-photographic-copies

We offer a wide range of document and image copying services in a variety of formats.

Some of the images and documents at The London Archives (TLA) have already been digitised. Digital copies of many images in our collections are available on the London Picture Archive.

Our catalogue also provides access to digital copies of documents in our collections, particularly those which are very well known, such as Magna Carta. Please check our catalogue to see which documents have already been digitised.

If there is no copy of a document or image that you need, we can probably create one. The type of copying process used depends on your requirements as well as the physical condition of the document.

If you are visiting in person, you can also buy a photography permit to use your own device to photograph material.

All copying is subject our Document and Image Copying Policy which ensures that the physical condition and the copyright status of the item allow a copy to be made. Any copied images are for private study and research only - if you want to publish material online or elsewhere you may need to apply for a licence, please contact us for more information.

Ordering a copy in person at The London Archives

Ask a member of staff if you want to order a copy. When we take your order, we will review the physical condition of the document. This is to ensure that it is fit to be copied, and to assess any special measures that we may need to take during the process of making a copy.

Ordering a copy remotely

If you are unable to visit The London Archives to order copies in person, we can assess documents on your behalf and provide you with an exact quote for all suitable copying options.

The fee for this assessment costs:

  • £20 for a single document
  • From £40 for multiple documents

This fee is non refundable, and additional to the actual copying costs. Once we know which item you'd like to have copied, we will ask you to pay the assessment fee before proceeding.

Ask about copying a document

How long will it take?

Once we've received your order we will process it within 10 working days. This does not include postage time for physical items if you have chosen this option.

Some large scale orders (which are subject to agreement) may take longer to complete.

How much will copying cost?

The cost will depend on what kind of copying you choose. Staff are happy to advise you if you're not sure which option is best.

Printed copies

  • A white border will be present on printed copies. The size of the border will depend on the dimensions of the original document
  • All copies can be produced in colour or black and white
  • The thickness of the paper is measured in grams per square metre (gsm) - the higher the number, the thicker the paper
Prices for printed copies
SizePaperPricePrice (excluding VAT)
A4Matt finish, 100gsm paper£5.50£4.59
A3Matt finish, 100gsm paper£11£9.17
A2Matt finish 160gsm, or satin finish 190gsm paper£22£18.34
A1Matt finish 160gsm, or satin finish 190gsm paper£40£33.34
A0Matt finish 160gsm, or satin finish 190gsm paper£45£37.50

Digital copies

  • Files are supplied at 300ppi (pixels per inch) as standard
  • Files of up to 2GB can be emailed or sent via a download link (free of charge), or sent by CD (up to 640MB, £2.50), DVD (4GB, £5) or USB (various sizes and prices)
  • Jpegs are compressed files which will open to full size in photo imaging software
  • Individual images can be combined into PDF files for an additional 30p per image
Prices for digital copies
Copy levelApproximate file size and formatApproximate dimensionsPricePrice (excluding VAT)
Service A - suitable for screen use and small printouts4.5MB jpeg1536x1020 pixels£10£8.33
Service B - suitable for printing up to A418MB jpeg or tiff2980x2100 pixels£20£16.67
Service C - suitable for printing up to A3 and for copying smaller details.30MB jpeg or tiff3900x2750 pixels£30£25
Service D - suitable for printing up to A2 and for large items with fine detail.80MB jpeg or tiff6300x4450 pixels£50£41.67
Service E - suitable for printing up to A1 and for large items with fine detail.200mb jpeg or tiff10200 x 6800 pixels£100£83.33

Discounts for copying consecutive pages

Where more than one digital copy is required, a reduced price is available, subject to the following conditions:

  • the items must be from the same document
  • pages must be in consecutive order
  • the original document can be no larger than A3 in size

Orders are charged at full price for the first page, then subsequent pages are charged at:

  • Service A - £2.10, or £1.75 excluding VAT
  • Service B - £4.20, or £3.50 excluding VAT

Photocopies

  • Due to the often fragile nature of archive documents, photocopying is suitable in only a very few circumstances
  • Photocopies are printed on 80gsm paper
  • Photocopies can be printed in colour or black and white
Prices for photocopies
SizePricePrice (excluding VAT)
A4£2£1.67
A3£3£2.50

Prints from microfilm

When you view microfilmed documents at TLA, you can print black and white copies of pages on A4 paper yourself. If you are unable to visit us in person, our staff can copy microfilmed pages on your behalf.

Prices for prints from microfilm
MethodPricePrice (excluding VAT)
Self service20pn/a
Staff£10£8.33

Photo quality prints

  • Photo quality prints can be printed on gloss or matt photo-quality paper
  • Prints can be produced in black and white or colour
Prices for photo quality prints
Size (inches)PricePrice (excluding VAT)
8" x 6"£8£6.67
10" x 8"£11.50£9.58
12" x 8"£16£13.34

Complete microfilm copying

Entire microfilms can be copied onto film reels, or digital copies can be created. Silver positive films appears as black text on a white background, and have an approximate 500 years of archival life if stored to ISO standards. Diazo films appears as white text on a black background and have an approximate 50 years archival life (dependant on usage).

  • Copies of microfilms are supplied on archival quality 35mm film
  • Turnaround time is dependant on the size of the job and will be given on application
  • Customers pay for delivery to and from the copying company. Orders below £200 (ex VAT) will incur an extra £15 carriage cost
Prices for complete microfilm copying
Type of copyMinimum orderPricePrice (excluding VAT)
Silver positive film3 rolls£70£58.33
Diazo film5 rolls£40£33.33
Microfilm digitisation4 rolls£55£45.83

Additional services

Rush fee

We offer a 24-hour turnaround for urgent requests (Monday to Thursday only). This service costs £30 for up to two prints or digital files. This is in addition to the basic copying fees.

Requests for more than two items using the rush service will need to be pre-authorised to ensure that the studio can fulfil the request in time. Further fees will apply in this case e.g. £60 for 3-4 files, £90 for 5-6 files.

Image editing

Image alterations and enhancements are available, including cropping, and producing exact 1:1 scale prints. This service costs £30 for a minimum of 30 minutes design time and is charged on a quotation basis.