Technology How to reduce the size of a PDF?

[igap]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I have collected quite a few documents/texts in PDF format during my residency. Some of these PDF files are >100MB in size.

Does anyone know of any way to reduce the size of the PDF without changing the document significantly?

For example, let's say I have a textbook in PDF format that is 130MB in size, and I wanted to reduce it to a more manageable 20-30MB without deleting any content. Is there an application out there that can be downloaded, preferably for free, that can do this?

I understand that Adobe Acrobat Pro can do this but it costs several hundred dollars. I am looking for a shareware/freeware application to do this.

Any suggestions?

 

[nitemagi]

Here/http://blog.nitropdf.com/index.php/2008/02/11/5-tricks-to-shrinkreduce-pdf-file-size/

 

[movax]

I have collected quite a few documents/texts in PDF format during my residency. Some of these PDF files are >100MB in size.

Does anyone know of any way to reduce the size of the PDF without changing the document significantly?

For example, let's say I have a textbook in PDF format that is 130MB in size, and I wanted to reduce it to a more manageable 20-30MB without deleting any content. Is there an application out there that can be downloaded, preferably for free, that can do this?

I understand that Adobe Acrobat Pro can do this but it costs several hundred dollars. I am looking for a shareware/freeware application to do this.

Any suggestions?

So, the magic sauce that these apps use to reduce filesize is downsampling images. This is a lossy process, so make sure you check the results, especially if the images are important and high-detail.

The images are already compressed, and basic information theory shows us we can't really squeeze them further. Hence the converters will downsample the images (reduce resolution) and other methods to reduce your filesize. This can result in a perceivable quality loss.

 

[igap]

I was able to use a friend's Acrobat to "optimize PDF" and downsample the files with no perceptible loss in quality.

Thanks guys.