Q: I am scanning large documents (black and white text) to PDF. The resulting PDF is big. Is there an easy way to reduce the file size so it can be emailed?
A: There are a few things you can do at the time of scanning to minimize the file size of the resulting PDF document:
- In the scanning window that comes up after you start a scan (it’s a window opened by the software that comes with your scanner so it is different for every scanner), look for a scan resolution parameter. By default, many scanners set a resolution of 300 DPI. You may lower the resolution to 150 or 200 DPI to obtain smaller scanned images.
- For black and white documents, PDF Studio also offers a very efficient compression called JBIG. In PDF Studio “Insert Scan dialog” choose the JBIG compression instead of the JPEG compression. This will create files that are up to 10 times smaller.
- If you’re a Mac user, look at our related knowledge base entry on how to reduce PDF file size on Mac.
When scanning document with hundreds of pages or when scanning document at a very high resolution, it may also be necessary to increase the memory allocated to PDF Studio.
