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monsieurmonkey99
monsieurmonkey99
Participant
Nov 10, 2026 5:31 PM UTC
Question

InDesign 2027 (22.0): PDF export with “Smallest File Size” produces 20.7 MB, while InDesign 2026 (21.6) produces 521 KB from the same document

Hi all,

I’m seeing a massive PDF file size regression in InDesign 2027 that looks similar to the issue reported for InDesign 2026 (“Large file size when exporting as a PDF”).

Problem:

  • Export from InDesign 2026 (21.6) with the [Smallest File Size] preset: 521 KB
  • Export from InDesign 2027 (22.0) with the [Smallest File Size] preset: 20.7 MB
  • Both PDFs look visually identical.

What I’ve checked:

  • Both exports use the same preset ([Smallest File Size]), and I compared the Compression settings (downsampling, compression type, quality) in both versions.
  • I tried several optimization steps (adjusting image resolution and compression, etc.) without any noticeable effect on the 2027 export.

Workaround (cumbersome):
Package the document in InDesign 2027, export it as IDML, open the IDML in InDesign 2026 and export the PDF there. The result is small again (about 500 KB). So the document content itself is not the cause. The 2027 export seems to ignore or handle the downsampling and compression settings differently.

System:

  • InDesign 2027 (22.0) and InDesign 2026 (21.6)
  • MacBook Pro, Apple M3 Max, 64 GB RAM
  • macOS Tahoe 26.6.2

Has anyone else seen this in 2027, and is there a known fix other than the IDML detour? I can share the packaged file and both PDFs if that helps Adobe to reproduce it.

Thanks!

    4 replies

    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Nov 10, 2026 8:31 PM UTC

    Hi ​@monsieurmonkey99,

     

    Thanks for reporting this and sharing the detailed comparison between InDesign 21.6 and 22.0.

    I'm checking this further with our product team and will share an update as soon as I have more information.

    In the meantime, could you please try the suggestion shared by the expert and ensure that Preserve InDesign Editing Capabilities is unchecked under File > Export > Adobe PDF (Print) > General? Please export the PDF again using the [Smallest File Size] preset and let us know whether it makes any difference.

     

    Thanks for your patience and cooperation!

    Abhishek

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    monsieurmonkey99
    monsieurmonkey99Author
    Participant
    Nov 11, 2026 9:32 AM UTC

    Hey ​@Abhishek Rao ​@BobLevine,

    Yes, I have already tried disabling "Preserve InDesign Editing Capabilities".

    Unfortunately, this only reduces the PDF size by a few MB. The resulting file is still nowhere near the 521 KB PDF exported from InDesign 2026.

    The file size remains dramatically larger (around 20 MB), despite using exactly the same document and export settings.

    This strongly suggests that the issue is not related to the additional editing data, but potentially to how InDesign 2027 handles image downsampling or compression during PDF export.

    Could you please investigate this with the product team?

    Thanks!

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    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Nov 12, 2026 12:29 PM UTC

    Hi ​@monsieurmonkey99,

     

    Thanks for your patience and cooperation!

    I've discussed this issue with our product team, and to investigate it further, we'd appreciate it if you could share the affected InDesign document along with the PDFs exported from versions 21.6 and 22.0.

    You can package your document using File > Package, ensuring that Copy Linked Graphics is selected, and then compress the packaged folder into a ZIP file.

    Reference: Adobe — Package files for output.

    You can share the files here in the thread or, if they're confidential, send me a direct message (DM) with a downloadable link using Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or any other cloud-sharing platform.

    This will help our product team reproduce the behavior and investigate the cause of the significant file-size difference.

    Thanks again for your patience and support!

    Abhishek

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    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Nov 10, 2026 7:32 PM UTC

    Did you turn off InDesign editing capability?

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