Prepare the booklet so printing goes smoothly: set correct page imposition for booklet printing, embed fonts and high-…
Open your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
Select File in the top menu.
Choose Export PDF, then select Reduced Size PDF.
In the dialog, set the compatibility to the most recent Acrobat version you expect recipients to use.
Best practiceChoosing a newer compatibility version can yield better compression without sacrificing quality, as noted by several PDF optimization blogs.
Click OK to save the reduced-size PDF.
If further size reduction is needed, select File > Export PDF > Optimized PDF.
In the PDF Optimizer, review the Images section and ensure image downsampling is set to a resolution close to the original (e.g., 300 ppi for print, 150 ppi for screen) and compression is set to Automatic (JPEG) with quality at High.
CautionLowering image resolution or compression quality too much can cause visible loss of detail.
In the PDF Optimizer, under Discard Objects and Discard User Data, only select options that remove unnecessary elements (e.g., hidden layers, metadata) but avoid removing content or features you need.
Click OK to save the optimized PDF.
Preview the optimized PDF to ensure images and text remain clear before sharing or archiving.
This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.
When you compress a PDF, especially at higher settings, Acrobat makes the images smaller by lowering their DPI (Dots Per Inch). This means there are fewer dots of color in each inch, which makes the image look less sharp. Text is usually not affected by compression, only images.
If you plan to print your PDF, you should be very careful with compression. Printing usually needs images to be 300 DPI for good quality. High compression settings can drop images to 72-100 DPI, which will look blurry when printed. It's best to use 'Low (High Quality)' compression or avoid strong compression altogether if print quality is important. Always check the final PDF before printing.
Always compress from the original PDF file. Each time you compress a PDF, especially if it was already compressed, the quality of the images gets worse. It's like making a copy of a copy – each new copy loses more detail. Starting with the original ensures you get the best possible quality for the smallest file size.
It's important to match the compression setting to the PDF's final use because different uses need different levels of quality. For example, a PDF sent by email or viewed on a screen doesn't need high-resolution images, so stronger compression is fine. But a PDF meant for printing needs high-resolution images, so strong compression would ruin the print quality. Matching the setting prevents unnecessary quality loss or file sizes that are too big.