To compress a PDF without losing quality, you should select our compression tool, upload your PDF file, start the process, and download your document once the compression is over.
Learning how to compress a PDF without losing quality allows you to share large PDF files more easily (e.g., via email or cloud storage). The lower the PDF size, the smoother the upload process gets, and the more space on your cloud or drive you can save.
Read our post to discover what PDF compression is, what its types are, when to use it, and how the PDF.net tool can help you streamline this process hassle-free.
What Is PDF Compression?
PDF compression is the process of reducing the size of this type of file. The best way to do so is to use online or offline software designed to identify the document components and then shrink them or remove the ones that are excessive or doubled.
There are several types of compression, all of which are based on compression levels—low, default, or high.
- Low compression is the best way to reduce PDF size without quality loss. It only makes minor changes to your document and mildly reduces the size of your file.
- Default compression is when an online tool finds the new optimal size for your document based on its original size and components. This type of compression may not shrink your file too much but may also not lower its quality.
- High compression can dramatically reduce the size of your file, but it may also significantly diminish the quality of your document.
In general, compressing your files allows you to open, use, and process them more easily. Besides that, by doing so, you can upload and share low-sized PDFs faster and error-free.
How to Compress a PDF File Without Losing Quality
To compress a PDF file without losing quality, you can open the PDF.net website, upload the document, and press the compress and download button.
Let’s go through the process in more detail:
#1. Enter the Website and Open the Compression Tool
Firstly, you need to go to PDF.net and open the compression tool located in the More Tools drop-down menu in the web page’s header. Once you click the Compress button, it will take you to the compression page with specific instructions on how to perform the process.
#2. Upload Your Document
The next step is to click the Choose file button in the box on the right and select the file you want from your drive. You can also drag your document into the box labeled Drop here to compress.
#3. Compress and Download Your File
After you select the compression tool and upload your file, it will open automatically. Select one of the three compression types (Smallest file size, Balanced, or Better quality), hit the Compress and Download button, and wait for the process to end.
When and Why Should You Compress PDF Files?
You should compress PDF files when you want to use, transfer, adapt, change, or edit them more easily, when their size prevents normal functioning.
Let’s see when a user might need to reduce the size of PDFs:
- Facilitating file sharing. Many platforms allow you to share PDF files but only within a specific size limit. For instance, you may be unable to email PDF documents larger than 20 MB. That’s when PDF compression tools jump in.
- Speeding up upload. Needless to say, the smaller the PDF, the faster it will upload to any online storage. The same applies to downloading shrunk PDF documents.
- Optimizing SEO. If you need PDF files on your webpage, the best practice is to use low-sized documents but also keep PDF quality intact. This will allow search engines to easily detect and scan such content on your page.
- Saving storage space. Your drive may not have enough space to support large PDFs, or you may also want to save money by using small-capacity cloud storage. In both cases, it is a good idea to compress your documents and create more space for new files.
- Making documents easier to use or edit. If you compress your PDFs, both online and offline software will be able to open and process them easier. This further means that you can avoid errors such as program freezes or application crashes.
How PDF Compression Affects the Quality of Files
PDF compression affects the quality of files in two ways—it may lower readability or decrease document quality.
Generally speaking, it’s essential to know about the two types of compression—high-quality PDF compression (or lossless PDF compression) and lossy PDF compression, as choosing between them can directly determine the post-compression file status.
Specifically, using lossy compression can lower the readability and/or quality of your documents. This is because this compression method removes components from your documents or shrinks them so that they lose some elements. By choosing a ‘high or strong’ compression type, which will significantly reduce your file size, you are also choosing lossy compression.
On the other hand, you can use lossless PDF compression instead; it removes only unnecessary or duplicate files or compresses files while restoring the elements whose quality was lowered. This way, you will have small-sized, high-quality documents.
That said, maintaining the quality of PDFs after lossless compression will enhance your working efficiency by keeping your document readable, accessible, and easy to edit or use.
5 Tips for Improving PDF Quality Before and After Compression
Compression may bring various challenges, most of which relate to the quality of PDF files. Still, there are ways to prevent these issues and improve the process.
Let’s check out some useful tips on improving PDF quality before and after compression:
#1. Choose the Right PDF Tool
We recommend using dedicated compression software to avoid receiving error messages during compression. Unreliable tools may damage or corrupt your files, rendering them useless if you don’t create a backup.
Moreover, low-quality PDF compressors may shrink your file but lower its quality and readability at the same time. Therefore, to avoid trouble, use high-quality software such as PDF.net for lossless compression.
#2. Split Large Files Before Compression
Some online tools may not allow you to upload files that exceed a few GBs in size. To bypass this, you can split your PDFs into multiple files. If you use reliable software for this, you will preserve the document quality. Moreover, you will be able to upload smaller files, compress them, and merge them again to get the same document as before, only with a smaller size.
#3. Adjust Image Resolution and Limit Embedded Fonts
You can lower the image resolution even before conversion. If you do this manually and use distinct tools, there is a higher possibility that the image quality will not be reduced. You can then replace large-sized images with low-sized ones, which will automatically reduce the size of your entire PDF file.
Similarly, embedded fonts in a PDF document can increase its size; however, if you remove unique fonts and keep only the standard ones, the size of your file will decrease.
#4. Delete Unnecessary Elements and Run Tests
You can manually reduce the size of your document before compression by removing all extra elements from your document. Specifically, you should target all comments, annotations, layers, or bookmarks you find insignificant.
In addition, before you compress the desired file, you can try to compress a random PDF file to see how a certain tool will perform. This is a useful precaution that can save your document from getting damaged.
#5. Do Post-Editing
Even if you use high-quality compression tools, your file's post-compression quality may still be slightly lower than its original one. If you have already followed pre-compression tips to keep its important characteristics, you can rescan your PDF to enhance its post-compression quality.
In other words, you should rescan your document at a higher dots per inch ratio (DPI) by using a scanner and disabling automatic configuration and size reduction in the settings menu. Plus, we advise you to use the highest possible resolution that a scanner offers if you choose a resolution exceeding 300.
How PDF.net Tools Can Help You Compress PDFs Without Losing Quality
PDF.net tools can help you compress PDFs without losing quality by providing a simple, comprehensive, easy-to-use PDF compression tool. All you need to do is open it, upload your file, press the button to start compression, and download an updated document in a few minutes.
This is one of the easiest and best ways to compress PDFs without losing quality, as our software provides different compression levels while ensuring that the quality of your file remains intact. We also use various safety protocols to protect your file and your privacy, which makes our software secure and reliable.
To facilitate compression, you can also use our other tools to split your document into several smaller files before beginning compression. It’s also advisable to utilize our PDF editor if you want to implement any text or image changes before or after compression to reduce the file size further.
How to Compress PDF Without Losing Quality FAQ
#1. How to check the size of a PDF?
To check the size of a PDF, you can right-click your file, select Properties, and choose the General or Size button. You can also use online PDF size identification and measuring software that will automatically show the original file size once you upload your document.
#2. Does compressing a PDF affect its readability and clarity?
Compressing a PDF affects its readability and clarity if you use lossy compression. To avoid this, you can use lossless compression or avoid over-compressing your file.
#3. What is the best method to compress a PDF without sacrificing image quality?
The best method to compress a PDF without sacrificing image quality is to use the PDF.net compression tool. Our software offers lossless compression, which restores elements from the images whose quality has been downgraded.
#4. How do I check if the PDF quality has been maintained after compression?
To check if the PDF quality has been maintained after compression, you can simply open your file after downloading it and see if there are any changes in quality. You can also use the preview option to see what your file looks like before you download it.