How to compress a PDF for email
Many email services limit attachments to roughly 20–25 MB, and a PDF full of photos or scanned pages can go far past that. This guide shows how to shrink one without making it unreadable.
Open Compress PDFWhy some PDFs are so large
Text is tiny. Images are not. A PDF made from scanned pages stores every page as a picture, and a PDF with high-resolution photos does the same. Embedded fonts add a little more.
That is why a 30-page text report can be a few hundred kilobytes while a 30-page scan is tens of megabytes.
How to compress a PDF
- Open Compress PDF and add your file.
- Choose a compression level. A higher level gives a smaller file with lower image quality.
- Optionally switch on grayscale, which helps if the document doesn't need colour.
- Click Compress and download the result.
Pick the right level
Start in the middle. If the file is still too large, compress the original again at a higher level. Compressing an already compressed file stacks the quality loss, so go back to your original each time.
- Mostly text with a few images: a light or medium level is usually enough.
- Photos or scans: a stronger level makes a big difference, and grayscale can help further.
- Pages you must read closely, such as small print: use a lighter level and check zoomed in.
Check the result before you send it
Open the compressed file and zoom in on the pages with images or small text. If something looks too soft, repeat with a lighter level. Keep your original, because compression can't be undone.
If it is still too big
Split the document into two or three parts with Split PDF and send them separately, or share it through a file link instead of an attachment.