Have you ever wondered how you can reduce your PDF file size? Well, I have some good news for you. And no, I’m not going to ask for your two dollars again. Still, making a PDF file decrease its size is quite simple and only requires you to use the best online optimizing tool. Though it’s easier than before, not all online optimizers can truly easily reduce PDF file size .
A lot of people have problems when they need to reduce pdf file size so that they can email it or upload it to the website. Usually, PDF files can be larger than a megabyte, which is too big. Luckily, I was able to find several ways that are incredibly easy and fast in reducing the size of your PDF files.
PDF compression is essential to all companies and organizations who want to distribute, share or publish documents online or offline. If you don’t do it, chances are that your PDF file is hard to read, takes a lot of time to open and increases load time of your website. To be able to use PDF files on the Internet you should reduce its file size as much as possible using an extremely efficient method. The same thing applies when distributing a white paper on your corporate website: the smaller file size on your server, the faster users will be able to access and download the white paper document.
Reducing the size of a pdf file is very easy and you can use various methods to reduce your pdf file size, but you will end up sacrificing the quality of the images or graphics in that pdf document. You also need to keep in mind that some file formats are not supported in all systems so you might lose some information when converting a document from one format to another. Here is how you can send large files via email without having them rejected.
Make PDF Smaller by Using Microsoft Word
MS Office is known to be the best PC Suite for Windows since a very long time, but what most of us don’t know is that with the launch of MS Office 2013, we can even create and edit PDF Files in hassle free manner. This is great leap by Microsoft and serves as boon for users who would like to compress their PDF Files to optimum sizes for various purposes such as sharing, storage, etc.
Step 1. While using MS Word 2013, all you have to do is save your word file as PDF. On the “Save As” windows ( “File” >”Save As”), select PDF from the drop down list contains output formats and also choose “Minimum Size” from the options given below. This is a new feature and saves a Word Document as PDF File in the most optimum size.
Note: In case you want to compress an existing PDF, all you got to do is open it on MS Word ( “File” >”Open” > browse to open the PDF File) or simply right click on the PDF File and open it with MS Word 2013.
Step 2. Now enable editing and save the file again in PDF Format by following the steps given above.
Adobe Acrobat Pro
If you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, there’s a tool within the application called “PDF Optimizer”. This is one of the best and easiest ways to shrink a PDF document.
To get to this, open your PDF in Acrobat, click Tools > Optimize PDF. A toolbar with a few options will appear just above the PDF.
If you click Reduce File Size, you can choose to reduce a single or multiple files. Next, you’ll choose the file location and name. Once you click Save, Acrobat will apply default settings to your file to attempt to reduce its size.
If you click Advanced Optimization, you’ll have more options to ensure you maintain the quality you need. To help with this, in the Advanced Optimization window, click Audit Space Usage, and you’ll be able to see how much space each kind of element is taking up within the file.
Using default setting, our sample file shrunk from 11,775KB to only 212KB, making Adobe Acrobat Pro one of the most effective PDF compressor in this list. It’s a paid tool, after all, but there was one free tool that performed better with default settings. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC will set you back $14.99 per month, but you can get a 7-day free trial.
Browser PDF Tools
NeeviaPDF
If you want more control over the quality of your compressed PDF, try DocuPub’s NeeviaPDF (for files less than 24 MB in size).
To keep things simple, you can choose one of the presets, which range from low compression (for a higher image quality) to maximum compression (for a lower image quality). You’re also given the option to discard certain elements from within your PDF. This includes things like forms, annotations, and page labels, which can unnecessarily increase the size of the file.
Our sample PDF lost 98% of its size, clocking in at only 203KB, down from 11,775KB. This was the smallest we achieved in our tests, and the result looked just fine. How much of the original PDF you want to discard depends on how much space you really need to save.
Windows PDF Tools
Windows 10 finally includes an option to print-to-PDF. However, advanced features, like tweaking the quality and size of a document, are not part of this feature. Meanwhile, many PDF printers let you choose quality and compression settings, which can greatly influence the size of your PDF files.
Note that the tools highlighted below require GhostScript to view and handle PDFs.
FreePDF
FreePDF is a classic PDF printer, and we highlight it here because it allows you to create your own compression profiles. Once installed (remember that you need GhostScript), you’ll find it listed as part of your Windows printers.
To reduce the size of a PDF document with FreePDF, open it, press Ctrl + P to launch the print dialog, choose FreePDF as your printer, click OK, and wait for the FreePDF dialog to pop up. Here, you can choose from three preset PDF profiles, including eBook, High Quality, and Medium Quality.
PDF2Go
Best for editing, conversion, and compression of PDF files.
PDF2Go greets its visitors with a jarring user interface, bombarding with all its features and boasting about all the things it can do to your PDF. If you can tolerate the shoddy design, then this is a very competitive free PDF compressor. It allows you to upload PDF files from the computer, drive, or drag and drop them onto the dashboard.
Steps to compress PDF to PDF2Go
#1) Upload the file you want to compress
#2) Select the method of compression
- Basic compression gives you a medium size with high quality.
- Strong compression gives you a small size and medium file quality.
- You also have the option to choose from a plethora of preset compression methods.
#3) Click Start when you are done uploading and selecting the method, your file will be saved in your desired folder.
You will also get the option to turn the images in your file to grayscale to further compress your files.
Apart from compression, PDF2Go is also great for a number of other features you can use to manage your PDF Files. You can convert your PDF files into a number of formats, including Docx and JPEG, and you also get to edit your PDF and rotate upside-down files from any device in your possession.
Features:
- Compress PDF
- Choose from multiple preset methods of compression
- Split and merge PDF
- Convert PDF
- Edit PDF
Verdict: PDF2Go is a great tool for several reasons, performing each of its many PDF manipulation features with panache. This tool is fast, intuitive, and best of all, absolutely free to use.
Price: Free PDF Compressor
Free PDF Convert
Best for online free conversion and compression of PDF files.
This tool has been a prominent free PDF compressor for a very long time now. The online software is easy to use, super-fast in yielding the results you desire, and also free for use. The PDF files compressed in this tool seldom lose their original quality while in the process of compression. Perhaps the best part of this tool is the emphasis it puts on the safety and security of your data.
Free PDF conversion refrains from duplicating your files and goes so far as deleting any residue of your uploaded document. It encrypts all uploaded PDF documents with 256-bit encryption, making it impossible for anybody to break in and steal information held in the documents uploaded.
You can access this software from any device, all you need is a good Internet connection. Apart from free PDF compression, the tool also offers features like merging and splitting PDF files, PDF file conversion, and much more.
Steps to compress PDF to Free PDF Convert:
#1) Select the file you would like to compress.
#2) The uploaded file will automatically start compressing
#3) Download and save the successfully compressed file.
Features:
- PDF compression
- Compatible across multiple devices
- PDF converter
- Split and merge PDF files
Verdict: Free PDF Convert is very simple to use and gets the job done in no time. Unlike PDF2Go, it does not offer any option in controlling the compression quality of your video, but it still more than makes up for it by delivering good quality compressed files.
Price: Free
PDF Compressor
Best for a simple batch of PDF compression across multiple platforms.
PDF Compressor is as simple as a file compression tool can get. It doesn’t assault you with needless information, or other features (apart from PDF conversion) that you usually find complimenting a PDF compression tool. It provides users with a tool wherein they can upload their PDF files, compress it, and save wherever they desire in the system.
Perhaps its salient appeal is the fact that it allows for batch uploading of PDF files. It can take up to 20 PDF files at a time.
Steps to compress a PDF File:
#1) Upload a PDF file from the system or simply drag and drop it on the dashboard.
#2) The PDF will automatically start compressing.
#3)Download compressed files. For multiple files, you can download them together via a zip archive.
Features:
- Free PDF compression
- PDF conversion
- Batch processing
- Comprehensive user interface
Verdict: PDF Compressor is a very simple compressor for those who want a quick solution to their large file size problem. It is very easy to use and also fast in its processing.
Price: Free
Free PDF Compressor (Windows)
This free PDF compressor application is a lite free PDF compressor software that allows you to easily and quickly compress your PDF files for more comfortable sharing. Add the PDF file you want to process, and select the output file type. Press start and watch the progress bar until completion. Your compressed file will appear in the output folder.
Nice PDF Compressor (Windows)
This Free PDF Compressor is portable and helps you remove duplicate PDF elements. It manages to quickly and easily reduce your PDF’s size, and it is an easy-to-use and reliable tool. If you update Nice PDF Compressor from version 1.5 to version 3.0, the compression feature has 30 – 60% better than what is possible in version 1.5.
ORPALIS PDF Reducer Free (Windows)
A reliable and straightforward, and powerful free PDF compressor, this PDF compression program is excellent if you’re looking for fast, reliable, and reputable PDF conversion did right, without the loss of viewing clarity. This app is suitable for a variety of Windows versions.
Compress PDF Files Online
We have listed here for you three online tools to easily compress PDF Files:
1. SodaPDF
Visit official website of SodaPDF and compress your PDF Files in an easy and secure way.
2. Smallpdf
Smallpdf is an easy to use online PDF compressor that you can compress your PDF Files for free in no time. Using this website is extremely intuitive and easy.
3. PDF Compressor
PDF Compressor is great online tool compress PDF Files to optimum sizes, best for trouble free sharing. Visit its website for more information about till online tool and instructions to use it.
Conclusion
Everybody wants to save money. However, when it comes to business documents, many people don’t bother to look for a way to reduce the costs. But why? Well, in most cases, they can’t find an easy and cheap tool to reduce the size of their PDF documents. PDF files are very common in the business world. This format is used because it keeps the layout/style and most of the formatting, as opposed to text-only formats where you lose all types of formatting (which is important when presenting a document online or in print.). But converting your files to PDF format also increases the file size, so what can you do if you want to reduce PDF size?
Reduce your file size by compressing the images into jpeg format. Also, if you don’t need the bookmark structure and hyperlinks, you can remove all of these items when converting a pdf file to word or a text document by selecting “remove all formatting.”