PDF compression issue
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Discussion

TEKNOPUG

Original Poster:

20,192 posts

227 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
I've got a single page PDF file that I need to email. It's text and colour photos/images. 56mb. I've tried both WinRAR and WinZip and neither of them will compress the file by more than a few hundred kbs. Can anyone suggest any other software or any change I can make to how the PDF file is saved/formatted?

mrmr96

13,736 posts

226 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
I have the "full" version of Adobe PDF software and it has the option to reduce file sizes. (I think it scans the document and reduces the quality of picutres etc on 'computer generated' pdfs. Also, for scanned in pdfs it does the same thing but also de-skews them, and removes pin pricks and flecks and cleans up 'blank' areas so they are truely blank.) Failing that you can also chop it up into bits.

If you don't have this software then it is somewhat more difficult.

mrmr96

13,736 posts

226 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
How did you create the file?

I reckon that printing and scanning at a lower resolution would do it, or (if it came from a scan originally) then simply rescan the original at a lower resolution.

Unless you need it to be super high res for a poster or other artwork which will be blown up, I can't think of a good reason why a pdf would need to be so high res as to be 56mb.

3200gt

2,727 posts

246 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
save it as a jpeg or tiff. essentially it just becomes a picture then, but will not be editable at the recipient. Alternatively sign up to "yousendit.com" files below 100mb are free to send. upload onto their website then just send the link so the recipient can download at the other end.

LordGrover

33,991 posts

234 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
Sorry OP, no idea.

It's gratifying someone's asking the question though. Our lot would just send it without a thought. rolleyes

mrmr96

13,736 posts

226 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
PS - the reason both Winzip and Winrar can't compress the file is becuase they both use 'lossless' compression. (That is to say that the integrity of the file is 100%. Hence you can compress word documents and the words still make sense!)

Compressing to get a lot off the file size will require lossy compression, which means having some software which can read the images and then make them slightly lower quality. Hence you need proper adobe or an equivalent. Or you need to print and rescan at a lower resolution.

Lower quality but lower filesize.

PS - How did you make the file in the first place?

TEKNOPUG

Original Poster:

20,192 posts

227 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
I've managed to get the file down from 59mb to 56mb (although the compression software is trying to tell me that it's reduced the size by 22%.....)

I didn't create the file unfortunately. I just have it off the network as a PDF file. I will try and save it as a JPEG.

mrmr96

13,736 posts

226 months

TEKNOPUG

Original Poster:

20,192 posts

227 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
Converted it to JPEG and all good. Stupid PDF files.....thanks for your help everyone!

dudleybloke

20,553 posts

208 months

Friday 12th February 2010
quotequote all
try sending it via gmail.

i'v sent some huge attachments over gmail without any problems.

lestag

4,614 posts

298 months

Saturday 13th February 2010
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dudleybloke said:
try sending it via gmail.

i'v sent some huge attachments over gmail without any problems.
FWIW yousendit.com is useful to send large emails, if the reciever cannot recieve large files via email