PDF files may be unexpectedly large, making them difficult to handle and transmit via email or other platforms if you don’t know how to minimize PDF file size. Not only that, but there are also additional reasons to compress a PDF file, such as when I need to transmit some papers to a government website that only accepts PDF files of a specific size.
There are a few simple applications and apps that may assist you in compressing and reducing the size of a PDF file.
Undoubtedly, pdf size reducer is a great choice to reduce pdf size in no time and you don’t have to compromise on the quality of the pdf file after compression.
These applications and tools can handle either regular or encrypted (password-protected) PDF files. Furthermore, the strategies we’re going to show you lower the size of a PDF without sacrificing quality. So, without further ado, let’s look at how to minimize the size of a PDF file without sacrificing quality.
PDF employs a lossless compression approach that preserves the quality and crucial information required to preserve the original layout. Fortunately, a PDF file can always be compressed. Furthermore, there is no scarcity of reduce pdf size. I’ve included five techniques for compressing PDFs to make them easier to save and send through email.
Before we get into the various methods, let’s first go over how PDF compression works. As a result, PDF quality is assessed in DPI (dots per inch), and the ideal size must be chosen to achieve the highest quality. Now, if I have a PDF that merely contains general information and will be seen on my computer screen, 72 DPI is the minimal quality that will result in the shortest PDF size. Ebooks are typically 100-150 DPI and are ideal for most text-based PDFs.
Anything more than 200 DPI is not advised because most computer screens can’t display it anyhow. That being stated, let’s have a look at various approaches for compressing PDFs using various programmes and tools.
Method 1: Compress them at the source of origin to reduce PDF file size without sacrificing quality.
The first and most apparent answer is to compress the files while making the PDFs in the first place. You can produce PDFs on desktops and most devices, yet we rarely consider the size. Acrobat Reader has a feature that optimizes PDFs for the web and immediately changes DPI for optimal performance.
Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, and a plethora of other apps provide PDF generation owing to the format’s adaptability. When exporting the file to PDF format, you may change the settings that can significantly reduce the size of your file, eliminating the need for a reduce pdf size.
By following these procedures, you may lower the size while saving. Simply go to File > Export > Web Save.
While this allows you to manage every element of compression, you can’t always rely on it since you don’t always generate pdfs; sometimes you just get huge PDFs.
Method 2: Online Resources
When you get the message that your PDF file is too large for the mail or that online portal, you’re only a few clicks away from compressing it. There are a number of free online PDF compression websites. You only have to search for the reduce pdf size and select the very first result, truly, it’s that simple. I found PDFresizer.com (which also works on cell phones) to be the greatest tool for the job.
It provides a variety of options such as conversion, splitting, merging, cropping, rotating, and resizing. Drop your PDF into the box and hit the button. Your PDF will be uploaded, and you may alter the quality by changing the dpi. It displays the compressed size and allows you to save your compressed PDF file to your PC.
According to their privacy policy, all submitted PDF documents are immediately erased after one hour, thus you may not want to upload any sensitive PDF files to their servers.
PDFresize only accomplished a 20% compression, but it also expanded the amount of a smaller, previously compressed PDF that I tried to compress.
Generally, it works well for smaller files with easy compression; nevertheless, you can’t truly regulate the quality with this approach, and your data may be at risk. We only propose this procedure when there are no alternative options.
Method 3: Make use of PDF Compressor Apps.
The programme is the next most convenient approach to compress PDF. This is a well-written piece of code that gets the task done quickly and efficiently. I discovered a couple of applications for each platform and have listed the top one in each category. These programmes compress and optimize your PDFs for online platforms and sites.
NXpowerlite is a free PDF compressing programme for Windows that allows you to compress with up to 95% compression. It obtained a compression level of 72 percent, which is more than other existing software, however they claim up to 95 percent compression. When you have a couple too many files to compress, 72 percent isn’t awful and actually saves a lot of data.
You do not need to download any third-party apps if you use a Mac. On a Mac, you may utilize the native Preview button to compress a PDF.
Make a duplicate of your PDF file (the document will replace the original), then open it in Preview, go to File > Export, pick “Reduce File Size” from the “Quartz-Filter” drop-down menu, and click the “Save” button.
Compress PDF is the best mobile solution for smartphones. It is the greatest software available for both Android and iOS. It immediately compresses your PDF files and allows you to share them over email, Whatsapp, and the cloud.
Method 4: Combine numerous PDFs into a zip file
If you’re working on many projects and need to compress a large number of files. Instead of compressing each file separately, you may archive the entire folder and compress it as a whole.
The files would be greatly compressed without any data loss as a result of the compression. The Zip archive can also be password protected. Though PDF may be password secured, it is more practical to lock the entire structure than specific rooms. Although both Windows and Mac have built-in Zip archiving capabilities, there are more powerful options accessible online. Rarzilla, WinRar, and 7-zip are some of the most famous archiving utilities for easily compressing your data.
While these tools are accessible for Windows and Mac, there are several applications available for Android and iOS.
iZip is better suited for iOS, whereas WinZip is best suited for Android.
I compressed a handful of PDFs, and the original size was 20MB.
Compressing the data with a ZIP archiver compressed the files into a single file of roughly 16MB, which isn’t much, but it results in faster uploads than downloading 20 individual Pdf files.
Method 5: Lastly, look for redundancy.
I shouldn’t even call it a method; it’s just that when we create PDFs, we occasionally enter the same file numerous times, which increases the size of the PDF. Examine your file for any redundancy or superfluous information that may be eating up space.
While it saves you the trouble of employing other approaches, it does not provide major results.
Which method is the most effective for reducing the size of a PDF file?
There are usually several solutions to a problem, but the most frequent one is to look twice. Method 5 is all about removing redundancy. While you may always utilize online tools, I don’t trust them because of their dubious UI, even if some of them are very good. If you’re writing documents, I recommend using Method 1 to compress your files, or you may utilize apps designed expressly for this purpose. Tell us about your favorite method of file compression.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, you don’t need any additional apps or programmes. The programme includes a feature called PDF Optimiser that allows you to trim extra fat from the PDF file.
- To minimize the size of a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat, open it in Acrobat, pick ‘Tools,’ and then select ‘PDF Optimiser’ from the drop-down menu.
- Just above the PDF, a toolbar with a few options will display; pick the ‘Reduce File Size’ option here.
- After that, Acrobat will use the default settings to try to minimize the size of your file.
- Controls for picture quality, typefaces, transparency, and other factors are provided under the ‘Advanced Optimisation’ option.
- Furthermore, from the menu, select ‘Audit Space Usage.’
SmallPDF
If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat on your laptop, you may use the browser to decrease the size of a PDF file without sacrificing its quality. This approach may also be used to compress PDF files on mobile devices. There are various choices available, but SmallPDF is the most user-friendly. The website offers both free and premium editions; however, the free version is sufficient if you do not compress more than two files every day.
- To reduce the size of a PDF file, go to the SmallPDF website and pick the ‘Compress PDF’ option from the main screen.
- Next, select the files you want to compress by clicking the ‘Choose Files’ button; you can alternatively drag and drop the file into the screen.
- Once the file has been submitted, you will be given the choice to download either the ‘Basic Compression’ or the ‘Strong Compression’ file. The latter provides the smallest file size, but at the expense of quality and comes with a paywall.
- Basic Compression is free and does not significantly impact the quality of the PDF file. Choose an option and press the ‘Choose Option’ button.
From the next screen, you may download the PDF file in a smaller size.
There is no need to sign in, and if you’re concerned about security, the file is erased from SmallPDF’s servers after an hour.
DocuPub
DocuPub is a good alternative to SmallPDF for reducing the size of PDF files in the browser. The system enables you to directly resize and rescale PDF file settings. The main drawback is that DocuPub has a file upload limit of only 24MB.
- The procedure for uploading a PDF file to DocuPub is the same as it is for SmallPDF: browse to the website and choose the file you want to post.
- Then, modify the resize/rescale parameters and select the ‘Upload & Resize’ option.
- The PDF file will be resized, and you may download and store it on your computer from the next screen.
4Dots Free PDF Compressor
PDF files may also be compressed and made smaller on a Windows laptop using a variety of reduce pdf size, one of which is 4dots Free PDF Compress. It is completely free and does not necessitate any technological skills. You only need to complete the following:
Install 4dots Free PDF Compress on your Windows 10 laptop or PC.
Open the programme and select Add file to add the PDF file to be compressed.
You have the option of adjusting the image quality.
When you’re finished, click ‘Compress,’ and you’re done. After that, the compressed PDF file will be saved locally on your Windows 10 machine.
This shareware tool can also compress several PDF files at the same time.
Preview
Mac users can utilize the built-in utility. Preview to reduce pdf size. To do so, use Preview and open your PDF file. If it isn’t the default option, right-click on the PDF menu and click Open with > Preview.
Then, go to File > Export and pick Reduce File Size from the Quartz Filter drop-down box.
The programme will automatically compress the PDF file. Save the compressed PDF file to your PC by clicking the Save button.
These are a few free methods for reducing PDF file size without sacrificing quality on your computer. It should help you deal with huge PDF files.
Altogether, pdf shrinker free tool is recommended to reduce pdf size without sacrificing the quality of the pdf files after compression.
