How to Reduce PDF Size on PC – 5 Ways

Some users in different situations are faced with the fact that they need to reduce a PDF file on their computer. The main reasons for this are: PDF compression saves disk storage space, or due to maximum file size requirements when uploading on the Internet.

Reducing the size of the PDF will increase free disk space on your PC or removable media. Otherwise, after you can reduce the weight of the PDF, it will be much easier to send this file by email or add it as an attachment in the feedback form of the service.

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a widely used format for storing electronic documents. Instructions, forms, forms, e-books, and so on are often saved in this format. Thanks to the format properties, the content of a PDF file looks the same on different types of devices.

In some situations, the user needs to receive a PDF file that is smaller than the original. How to shrink a PDF file? You can use two methods:

• Compress the file on your computer.
• Reduce PDF online.

In the first case, using different options, you reduce the size of the PDF file on your device without outside influence on these circumstances, for example, the availability of Internet access. All operations take place locally on the computer.

In the second case, you will need a permanent Internet connection to access the web application on the corresponding site that has the functionality to compress PDF files. All work is done on a remote server.

On the site vellisa.ru you can read an article on how to reduce the size of a PDF online using specialized services.

In this guide, you will find instructions on how to reduce the size of a PDF file on a computer. We will explain to you how you can practically implement all this on your device.

How to reduce the size of a PDF file by changing the resolution

Printing uses the printer’s image resolution. It is expressed in dots per square inch and is measured in dpi. The more dots, the better the print quality.

When using a virtual printer, the value of this indicator affects the size of the output file. Using a virtual printer in a program that has a print function, the user can save any open file in PDF format.

In this case, by changing the default settings, you can reduce the file’s resolution. This means that some of the quality is lost, but the output file becomes much smaller.

The Windows 11 and Windows 10 operating systems have a built-in virtual printer – Microsoft Print to PDF. We will need another virtual printer from a third-party developer due to the fact that this system tool does not allow you to change the dpi resolution when printing.

Do the following:

1. Open the PDF file in an appropriate program.

On modern Windows operating systems, the PDF format opens by default in the Microsoft Edge browser (it is used in this example), unless another application has been selected.

2. Right-click inside the open file, and from the context menu, click Print. This action can be performed by clicking on the icon located on the top bar of the browser, or by simultaneously pressing the “Ctrl” + “P” keys.
3. As a printer, select the tool installed in the system – PDF Virtual Printer.

If your PC does not have a PDF printer, then you must first install a virtual printer on your device, such as PDF24 Creator or Bullzip PDF Printer, and only then use the print function. This article uses a PDF24 printer.

4. In the Printing Preferences section, scroll the mouse wheel to click on “More Preferences”.
5. In the “Quality” option, select a lower resolution. A suitable resolution can be chosen empirically.
6. Click on the “Print” button.
7. In the “PDF24 Assistant” window, click on the “Save PDF” button.
8. In the Save window, select a location to store the file.

As a result, a new smaller PDF file will appear on your computer.

A similar operation can be performed from another program suitable for opening and viewing PDF files.

Do the following:

1. After opening the PDF in the appropriate program, click on the “Print” button.
2. In the “Print” window, in the “General” tab, in the “Select a printer” section, specify a virtual printer. In our case, PDF24.
3. Click on the “Settings” button.
4. In the “Printing Preferences” window, open the “Paper and Print Quality” tab, and then click on “Advanced…”.
5. Set the desired print quality in the “Advanced Features” window. For example, set 300 dpi or less instead of the default 600 dpi.
6. Confirm the selected options with “OK” and create a PDF file by clicking on “Print”.

How to reduce the size of a PDF file using IrfanView

Another method involves resizing the document image. For example, the freeware IrfanView offers a similar alternative. With this application, you can reduce the size of your PDF document in just a few steps.

The IrfanView graphic file viewer has support for the PDF format, implemented using a plug-in. A set of plugins can be downloaded from the official website of the application developer.

Do the following:

1. Open the PDF file in IrfanView.
2. Click on the “Image” menu and then on “Resize Image…”. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl” + “R”.
3. In the Image Resizing window, you have the option to resize the PDF document as you wish.

For example, the height and width can be changed in pixels by specifying the new size explicitly, or as a percentage. Alternatively, choose any of the standard formatting, such as “Zoom 2x” if that’s the option for you.

4. Click on the “OK” button.
5. Enter the “File” menu, click “Save As …”.
6. In the “Save Image As” window, give the file a name, and in the “File Type…” field, specify: “PDF – Portable Document Format”.
7. Click on the “Save” button.

When using this method, you need to choose the right scale for the optimized PDF file.

Compress PDF file in PDF24 Creator

The free PDF24 Creator has a tool to compress PDF files. On the PDF24 Tools website, in addition to online tools, there is an application that can be installed on a computer. The program works offline.

The PDF24 Creator program installs a virtual printer of the same name in the system, which can be used to save documents to PDF from any program that supports printing.

Go through the steps:

1. Launch PDF24 Creator on PC.
2. In the “PDF24 Toolbox” window with tools, click on the “Compress PDF” button.
3. In the window that opens, click on the “Select files” button or drag them with the mouse to a special area.
4. After adding a file, the DPI value and image quality are indicated on the bottom panel. Click the “Compress” button to reduce the file size.
5. After processing is complete, click on the “Save” button or send the file by e-mail using the “Email” button.

How to shrink a PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Now we will talk about how to reduce the weight of a PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro. This app is from the creator of the PDF format, Adobe Systems.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is a paid, functional application, unlike the free Adobe Reader program designed to view PDF files.

You can reduce the PDF size in Adobe Acrobat in the following way:

1. Open the PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2. Enter the “Tools” tab.
3. Click on the “Optimize PDF” option.
4. The optimized document opens in the application window. By default, Reduce File Size is selected.
5. Click on the “File” menu.
6. From the context menu, first select “Save As Other” and then “Reduced PDF File…”.
7. The Reduce File Size window defaults to existing compatibility. Click on the “OK” button to continue processing.
8. In the “Save As” window, select the location and type – “Adobe PDF Files (*.pdf)”, and then click “Save”.

In the program, you can use another compression option to reduce the PDF file size in Adobe in the following way:

6. In the context menu from step 6, after selecting “Save as other”, click on the submenu item “Optimized PDF file …”.
7. In the Optimize PDF window, accept the defaults or set your own options.
8. Save the optimized PDF file to your computer.

How to compress a PDF file in an archive

If you want to send multiple PDFs via email, you can zip those documents into a ZIP folder. This method will reduce the overall size of the files.

We use the ZIP format due to the fact that it does not require third-party applications to use it in the Windows operating system. Other archive formats may provide more data compression.

Take a few simple steps:

1. Select a file or multiple files.
2. Right-click, in the context menu, click “Compress to ZIP Folder”.
3. The system will automatically create an archive with the given file name.

Your PDF documents are now packaged in a ZIP folder and can be sent to the recipient in one email.

Article Conclusions

Many users are interested in how to reduce the size of a PDF document in order to send it to a recipient via the Internet or save disk space. You can compress PDF online or using programs on your computer. You can use several methods with PC applications that will allow you to get an optimized PDF file in a smaller size.