How to compress PDF files

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While the advantages of PDF files help us in regard to security and a "portable" layout, there are several situations in which the size of this format can be challengeable. For example, if we want to send several PDFs by e-mail, their size can quickly become too big. This, however, can easily be solved.

Whether you are sending a job application or important business files to colleagues, the amount and size of attachments can often quickly pile up. The maximum size of an e-mail's attachment usually lies between 10 and 25 MB depending on the provider. And even if your provider allows to send larger files, the provider of the recipient might have stricter limits. In order to avoid problems with sending or receiving e-mails that contain several PDFs, you have the possibility to reduce their size. This can easily be done with a PDF editor like, for example, PDF Architect.

Compressing PDF files while keeping the required quality

If you need to reduce the size of a PDF you have two options. You can remove content that isn’t needed, like for example images that are only partially displayed or not at all. Another possibility is to reduce the size of the images by compressing the PDF. PDF Architect gives you several options to compress PDFs and outlines clearly which quality choice best fits your requirements. For print use it is advisable to reduce the size to medium quality, which means that images in the PDF will be reduced to 600 dpi. For MS Office use, you only need to select low quality with images being reduced to 300 dpi and when it comes to sending PDF files by e-mail the minimum quality with an image size of 150 dpi is recommended. Whichever option you choose, prior to reducing your PDF file, PDF Architect will always estimate the size that your PDF will be compressed to.

So if you run into a limit when sending an e-mail, try to reduce the size of PDF files first instead of reducing the amount of attachments. By this you will avoid having to either send your PDF files in several e-mails or even having to deselect a few important files from your attachments.

Our quick step guide:

How can I reduce the size of a PDF?

  • Download and install PDF Architect (if not already installed)
  • Open the PDF file in PDF Architect
  • Click on File → Compress
  • Select the quality the file will be reduced to
  • Check the estimated file size and click on either Save or Discard

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