Shrinking a PDF always involves a trade-off, but you can keep it looking good if you know where the size comes from and how much you really need to cut.
Where the size comes from
A PDF with only typed text is tiny, often under 100 KB. Size explodes when pages contain pictures: scans, photos, screenshots. A single scanned page at high resolution can be 2 to 5 MB. So compressing a PDF is mostly about compressing its pictures.
What “quality” really means here
Two settings decide how a picture looks and how big it is: the resolution (dots per inch) and the compression level. For reading on a screen, 150 DPI is plenty. Printing a sharp page needs about 300 DPI. Going above that only makes the file larger.
The simple way
- Open the PDF compressor.
- Add your PDF and choose a target such as 200 KB, 500 KB or 1 MB.
- Press Compress and check the result.
The tool tries several quality levels and keeps the sharpest one that still fits your target. If the target is too small for the pages to stay readable, it tells you.
What changes in the file
To reach small sizes, each page becomes a compressed picture. It looks the same on screen, but the text can no longer be selected or searched. If you need searchable text, keep the original and send only the small copy to the form or email.
Tips for a better result
- Pick a realistic target. Asking a 40-page scan to fit in 100 KB will blur the text. Try 1 MB first.
- Remove pages you do not need with organize PDF pages before compressing.
- Split a long document with split PDF if the portal accepts several files.
- Rescan at 150 DPI if you made the PDF yourself, instead of 600 DPI.
Privacy
The PDF is processed in your own browser, so confidential documents such as contracts and ID copies never leave your device.