What actually happens when files like PDF or JPG are compressed?
Have you ever thought, what happens when you compress PDF files? What does that online PDF compressor do to PDF that reduces its size?
Well, let’s find out together!
How Tools compress PDF files:
1. Removing Extra Empty pages:
This is the main reason why some PDF files are bigger than others. Some pages may contain more info, but mostly they’re empty and can be removed without any damage to a file.
Not all compression tools provide this option, but you should check for it. It will affect your results drastically!
2. Compressing Pictures:
It’s no surprise that images take quite a lot of space from your file. In most cases, you don’t need high-resolution pictures in your file, which is why it makes sense to compress them before uploading them to cloud storage or sending them by email.
3. Removing comments and other metadata:
If you didn’t know – Adobe Acrobat stores additional information in each PDF document (and most probably other similar tools do the same). A good example is “comments” – text boxes that contain additional info and can be seen under the ‘Annotations’ section in Adobe Reader.
4. Ciphering and Re-ciphering:
Tools like Adobe Acrobat also support encryption – a technology that scrambles your document so nobody can read it without using the appropriate password. And – believe it or not – this step reduces the file size as well!
5. Avoiding Overlapping Fonts:
One of my friends is a computer science major, and he told me once that you can reduce PDF size (Using PDF size compressor) by changing font format from TrueType to Type 1. I don’t know if it’s true, but most compression tools will do exactly this for you automatically.
6. Compressing Metadata:
As mentioned above, a lot of different tools store additional information in your PDF document. And while some of them can be useful, you don’t need to have so much info about a file most of the time.
7. Deleting Some White Space:
It may sound strange, but this step makes sense when dividing parts within a file (like a table of contents). Usually, extra white space is added around pictures and other elements that take up more room. I’m not sure if all PDF compression tools support such an option, but I think it’s worth mentioning!
Or you can reduce PDF online using a tool like https://compresspdfonline.net/
8. Compressing Fonts:
If you have a file with lots of texts, you should probably check if it has been created using fonts installed on your computer. When you’re not going to edit a reader, it’s better to use standard fonts instead of professional ones to save space.
9. Encrypting Files:
Some tools allow encrypting files before uploading them online or sending them by email. This way, the only person who can open and read the data is the person who has an encryption key. In theory, this sounds like a great idea. Still, it may be less useful in practice because security features introduced later might prevent opening such files without knowing the exact password/key used for encrypting them.
10. Saving in a Different Format:
Most of the tools will allow you to choose which format will be used to save your file. For example, if you upload it online, JPG may be one of the best choices you can make – because this format has been designed for photos and other images, not texts and graphs.
11. Compressing the File:
Last but not least – some tools will compress your files before uploading them. This way, you won’t need to ask your friend to download and send it back via email because the file will be smaller and quicker to transfer online.
12. Using Filters:
This step is also worth mentioning because most of you would never guess that a compression tool could do something like this. In case you’re wondering what it is – using filters can save disk space by encrypting or compressing output data as soon as it’s been created.
By default, such filters are turned off, so make sure to check if they’re used in your case! I hope these tips will help you save time when searching for an optimal solution!
Which Formats Should I Use?
It depends on what do you need:
For Emailing: JPEG or PNG (For Texts) PDF (For More Complex Files)
For Cloud Storage: ZIP (to save space), but sometimes uploading DOCX may be faster than converting it back to PDF! pdf (for complex files containing pictures and diagrams that cannot be opened as text files) jpg or png (for pictures and images, but not complex diagrams)
For Offline Storage: PDF or ZIP (to save space), but sometimes uploading DOCX may be faster than converting it back to PDF! pdf (for complex files containing pictures and diagrams that cannot be opened as text files) jpg or png (for photographs and images, but not complex diagrams)
