Reducing size of e-mail attachments (PDFs)

allanb · 01-08-2013, 10:00 AM

I have several .pdf documents which I need to send by e-mail. Each of them occupies about 2.8 MB, and it will be horribly slow unless I can reduce the file size somehow, like reducing an image size in iPhoto.

I have tried using the Finder to compress them, but the resulting zip files are almost exactly the same size as the original.

I have OS X 10.6.8. Is there a way?

DeltaMac · 01-08-2013, 10:38 AM

You could try out PDF-Shrink
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/9206/pdf-shrink
You can try out for free.

benwiggy · 01-08-2013, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allanb


	I have tried using the Finder to compress them, but the resulting zip files are almost exactly the same size as the original.

PDF data can use compression natively, within the file, to reduce file size. If zipping doesn't make it smaller, then it's likely that the data is already compressed within the PDF.

There are other options: You can reduce the resolution of the images within the PDF. This is what some PDF-shrinking utilities will do.
You can also try Exporting from Preview, and using the "Reduce File Size" Quartz Filter. In Snow Leopard, it might just be "Save As".

allanb · 01-09-2013, 06:50 AM

"Reduce file size" worked but there seems to be no control over the amount of reduction; in my case it pulled the file size from 2.8MB all the way down to around 40KB, which made it very fuzzy and hard to read.

I accidentally found a way that worked better (although I suspect it depends on the kind of document): I used the ScreenSave option in Preview, which created a PNG file of about 700KB. In my particular case this was a reasonable compromise.

Thanks for the ideas. I've made a note of PDF-shrinking for possible future needs.

chabig · 01-09-2013, 10:47 AM

Open and play around with Colorsync Utility. You can duplicate the "Reduce File Size" filter and adjust the amount of compression in it.

01-08-2013, 10:00 AM	#1
allanb Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aquitaine, France Posts: 176	Reducing size of e-mail attachments (PDFs) I have several .pdf documents which I need to send by e-mail. Each of them occupies about 2.8 MB, and it will be horribly slow unless I can reduce the file size somehow, like reducing an image size in iPhoto. I have tried using the Finder to compress them, but the resulting zip files are almost exactly the same size as the original. I have OS X 10.6.8. Is there a way?

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01-08-2013, 10:38 AM	#2
DeltaMac League Commissioner Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 7,958	You could try out PDF-Shrink http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/9206/pdf-shrink You can try out for free.

01-09-2013, 06:50 AM	#4
allanb Triple-A Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aquitaine, France Posts: 176	"Reduce file size" worked but there seems to be no control over the amount of reduction; in my case it pulled the file size from 2.8MB all the way down to around 40KB, which made it very fuzzy and hard to read. I accidentally found a way that worked better (although I suspect it depends on the kind of document): I used the ScreenSave option in Preview, which created a PNG file of about 700KB. In my particular case this was a reasonable compromise. Thanks for the ideas. I've made a note of PDF-shrinking for possible future needs.

01-09-2013, 10:47 AM	#5
chabig Hall of Famer Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,934	Open and play around with Colorsync Utility. You can duplicate the "Reduce File Size" filter and adjust the amount of compression in it.