Need Information please: compression

Question

Hi I am doing a project for school and I need some information about PDF: Does it use compression? Lossy or lossless? What’s a typical file size for this format before and after compression? On average how much (as a percent) does it compress a file?

jane-e · Answer

You have many choices when creating a PDF using Adobe Acrobat, so the answers vary widely. Adobe is not the only company who makes PDFs, and I can’t tell you what choices you will have if you make a non-Adobe PDF.

The place you will see lossy is if you choose to convert pictures into jpegs, because jpegs are lossy. Typically your text will stay editable. It’s your choice on the quality of the jpegs.

File size varies depending on the number of pages, the number of typefaces, the number and size of the photos, and many other factors.

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