How do I make my PDF's image quality consistent using the PDF Optimizer?

Open your PDF in Acrobat and go to File > Save as Other > Optimized PDF. In the 'Images' section, set a target resolution like 150 dpi for color/grayscale images and 300 dpi for monochrome. Choose a JPEG quality level, like Medium/High, which often looks good without making the file too big. Click 'OK' to apply these settings and save your improved PDF.

What is the difference between 'downsampling' and 'compressing' images in the PDF Optimizer?

Action What it does Impact on quality. Downsampling Reduces the number of pixels in an image, making it physically smaller. Can reduce visual detail if done too much, but lowers file size significantly. Compressing Reduces the file size of an image without changing its physical dimensions, by removing redundant data. Can maintain visual quality better than downsampling, but some compression types (like JPEG) are 'lossy' and remove data permanently.

Inconsistent File Quality in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

DBecome — “help me grow”Across the last 30 files, where do I lose time and credibility in the handoff to credit and…+

Across the last 30 files, where do I lose time and credibility in the handoff to credit and audit? Identify the two most common document problems (naming, OCR, missing notes), and recommend one change to my file-building routine that will cut my rework by at least half.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open Adobe Acrobat Pro.
2
Go to the File menu and select Action Wizard.
3
Click New Action to create a custom batch process.
4
In the Choose Tools to Add pane, scroll down and add Optimize PDF to the action steps.
5
Click the Options button next to Optimize PDF and configure your advanced optimization settings as needed.
CautionAdvanced optimization settings will apply to all PDFs processed in this batch.
6
Under Files to be Processed, click Add Files or Add Folder to select all the PDFs you want to optimize.
7
Optionally, add any additional steps (such as Save As or Rename) to the action if you want to control output location or filenames.
Best practiceBlog experts recommend setting a dedicated output folder to avoid overwriting your originals during batch operations.
8
Click Save to save your new action, giving it a descriptive name.
9
Select your new action from the Action Wizard list and click Start.
10
Review the processed PDFs in your chosen output location to confirm optimization completed as expected.

In the appWith the API

You can reuse your custom batch optimization action any time you need to process multiple PDFs with the same settings.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

DownsampleTo make an image smaller by removing some of its detail, which reduces the file size.ExampleTo make a large photo fit an email, you might downsample it to reduce its file size.

Unembed fontsTo remove the font information from a PDF, making the file smaller but requiring the font to be on the viewer's computer.ExampleYou unembed fonts from a PDF to reduce its file size before emailing it to a colleague.

DPI (Dots Per Inch)DPI tells you how clear a picture is, especially for printing.ExampleA photo with a higher DPI will look sharper and clearer when you print it out.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

My files are a mess whenever someone else reviews them

FAQ

about this task

Open your PDF in Acrobat and go to File > Save as Other > Optimized PDF.
In the 'Images' section, set a target resolution like 150 dpi for color/grayscale images and 300 dpi for monochrome.
Choose a JPEG quality level, like Medium/High, which often looks good without making the file too big.
Click 'OK' to apply these settings and save your improved PDF.

Unembedding fonts means removing the font data from inside the PDF file. This can make the PDF file size smaller. However, if the person viewing the PDF does not have that specific font on their computer, the text might look different. It matters because it balances file size against how the document looks to others.

Yes, if your scanned PDF pages are blurry, the PDF Optimizer has a special tool called 'Optimize Scanned Pages'. This tool is designed to improve the quality of scanned documents by cleaning up backgrounds, sharpening text, and correcting other scan-related issues. It can help make the text and images on scanned pages much clearer and more readable, improving the overall quality of your document.

You should use RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color for PDFs that will be viewed on computer screens, tablets, or phones. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is for printing. Screens display colors using RGB, so using RGB in your PDF ensures the colors look accurate and vibrant on digital devices. Using CMYK for on-screen viewing can sometimes make colors look dull or incorrect.

Action	What it does	Impact on quality
Downsampling	Reduces the number of pixels in an image, making it physically smaller.	Can reduce visual detail if done too much, but lowers file size significantly.
Compressing	Reduces the file size of an image without changing its physical dimensions, by removing redundant data.	Can maintain visual quality better than downsampling, but some compression types (like JPEG) are 'lossy' and remove data permanently.

Inconsistent File Quality

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

Other guides

When it fails