How can I make PDF documents smaller (In file size)?
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Distribution: Slackware 14 (Server),OpenSuse 13.2 (Laptop & Desktop),, OpenSuse 13.2 on the wifes lappy
Posts: 781
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How can I make PDF documents smaller (In file size)?
Hi all,
Does anyone know how to reduce the size of PDFs. I have just converted a OOo doc, which in native XML is around 67Kb. But as a PDF it's 608Kb. Have I done something stupid, or is this normal?
I think it depends a lot on whether the fonts used in the document must be encoded into the PDF. Try using a generic font like 'Times.' Also, I believe in OOo there is an option for producing "screen-optimized" PDFs, which can reduce the file size if there are graphic objects and whatnot in the document. In my experience, a good text-only PDF output is only a few times larger than what you'd expect for an ASCII text version of the file; my resume, for example, is 9K in .sxw format, 2K in ASCII, and 8K in PDF.
There are also some command-line utilities, most of which come with Ghostscript and xpdf, I think, that may help you compress PDFs. ps2ps, ps2pdf, pdf2ps, etc.
Distribution: Slackware 14 (Server),OpenSuse 13.2 (Laptop & Desktop),, OpenSuse 13.2 on the wifes lappy
Posts: 781
Original Poster
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Excellent, Thanks for that. I have experimented with several fonts, and have found what I feel is acceptable between legibility and file size. Wish I'd thought of that in the first place.
in native XML is around 67Kb. But as a PDF it's 608Kb. Have I done something stupid, or is this normal?
It is a bigger ratio than I would have expected (say, 3:1 rather than 10:1), but the trend is quite normal. You could get some of it back by compressing the file (gzip, bzip or something similar) if you are e-mailing the file, but for general use, it is probably more hassle than it is worth.
I had a 2-page pdf file that was 10.6 MB
I first used:
pdf2ps file.pdf file.ps
I next used:
ps2pdf file.ps file2.pdf
results:
file.ps 19.4 MB
file2.pdf 1.8 MB
No apparent loss in visible quality, significant reduction of file size!
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