Abstract: A digital document image archive and distribution system includes an archive system and a distributed digital document image retrieval system. The system has communication nodes located at an image capture site and at one or more remote archive retrieval sites, these sites forming a communications network operating as a chained client/server network composed of workstation components and a capture site host computer component. An originating remote workstation retrieves a digital document image from the image capture site by creating a transaction file that identifies a digital document image to be retrieved. This transaction file is sent to a remote server workstation whereat a plurality of transaction files are batched by priority. The batched transaction files are transmitted to the capture site workstation whereat the host component retrieves a group of digital document images from archive storage, including the digital document image that is identified by the transaction file.