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Large PDF Files

How to make em smaller

         

aspdaddy

6:57 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



I have an existing catalog in Publisher, 33 Meg.
Its only a 2 page doc, but has full color photos.

I want to get this online for a download.

I have saved it in PostScript then used Adobe Distiller to make a PDF, but its still 2.5Meg.

Without redoing the publisher file, Anyone have any tips for making it smaller filesize?

TIA

pageoneresults

7:02 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



When you print the file and select save as file, there should be an area where you can specify dpi. Typically 72 dpi is the preferred format for the web. My main career is in the print industry and we pdf all day. It sounds like you may have your settings correct already; 32 to 2.5 is a big drop.

You might also consider a 2 part download if you cannot get the file size down. Page 1 ¦ Page 2

sun818

7:05 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member Top Contributors Of The Month



In case you missed this thread about PDF compression by Slix [webmasterworld.com].

mivox

7:09 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



A few ideas:

1. Can you switch to greyscale images? Coverting images to greyscale only takes a moment in an image editor, but can save huge amounts of space in your file.

2. Is there an embedded ColorSync profile in the file? Those things add a whole lot of weight to filesize, but really aren't needed in download files.

3. Can you downsample the images to 144ppi or even 72ppi? Since the file doesn't need to be optimized for high-res printing, letting your customers suffer a mild case of jaggies on their printouts is probably a worthwhile trade off.

#1 would require tinkering with a copy of the original file (becuase you would never tinker with an important file without making a copy! ;) ) but the other two ideas should be doable through Distiller, if the file saving dialog is anything like Acrobat for Mac.

aspdaddy

7:11 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Thanks for the ideas, I'll have another mess around with it in the morning.

DaveAtIFG

7:11 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Also, consider Silx [parc.com]. It's limitation is that it requires Acrobat Reader 5.0 or better.

<added>Gotta type faster!</added>

choster

7:16 pm on Dec 5, 2002 (gmt 0)

WebmasterWorld Senior Member 10+ Year Member



Generic tips:

  • Be sure your output is optimized for"Fast Web View," not print.
  • Remove embedded fonts or change the Subset Fonts to 99%
  • Reduce image quality on the JPGs a lot. I'm talking below 30%.
  • Reduce the dimensions and resolution of images prior to distilling.