How to compress a PDF without losing quality
Honest answer first: making a PDF much smaller means throwing some picture detail away. The goal is to lose only what you cannot see.
What compression changes
Our compressor redraws each page as a picture and saves it as JPG at the quality and resolution you choose. Picture detail can drop, and the text becomes part of the picture, so it can no longer be selected or searched. If the PDF is mostly text, it is already small and may not need compressing.
Settings that keep it looking good
- Start with a moderate resolution, around 150 dpi, for documents people will read on screen.
- Keep the image quality high, for example 80 or more, for pages with small print or fine lines.
- Run it and open the result. Look at the smallest text.
- If it is sharp enough, try lowering the quality a little. If not, go back up.
Alternatives that lose nothing
If the file is too big only because of its length, split it and send parts. The Pages tab copies pages unchanged, so text stays selectable and nothing is lost. You can also remove pages you do not need.
When to keep the original
Keep the original for contracts, forms that must stay searchable, and anything you may print large. Use the compressed copy only for sending or uploading.
Everything stays on your device
Because the work happens in your browser, a confidential PDF is not uploaded while you test different settings.