How to combine, compress and protect a photo-heavy property inventory PDF in Acrobat?

For photo-heavy reports, I’d keep an original uncompressed copy as your master file, especially since you may need the photos as evidence later.

In Acrobat Pro, you can use Combine Files to merge the room-by-room PDFs, then add bookmarks and page numbers to keep everything organised. For compression, try reducing image resolution gradually instead of using the strongest compression, then zoom in on small marks and damage to make sure the details are still clear.

For privacy, use Acrobat’s Redact tool to permanently remove sensitive information from the copy you plan to share. Just covering text with a shape isn't enough. Keep the original securely stored.

For signatures, Request e-signatures is worth trying since tenants can usually sign from their phones. Before sharing the final report, check the page order, photo quality, redactions, and signature status. Keeping the original photos and a dated copy of the final report is also a good idea if you need to refer back to it later.

I agree with keeping an untouched master copy, especially for evidence. A practical order is: combine the room sections first, add bookmarks and page numbers, then redact any tenant contact details, and only then make a separate compressed copy for sharing. That way the shared file is smaller, while the original detail and the signed copy stay intact.

​@Enlightened_Mirage310a Because these reports may be used as evidence later, I would be cautious about compressing the PDF. Reducing file size too aggressively can make small marks, scuffs, scratches, or meter readings harder to see. Instead, consider sharing the full-resolution PDF through a cloud service such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud and sending a link rather than an email attachment. That's often a better option when the file is too large for email.

If you want to organize the report, bookmarks are definitely worth adding. They make it much easier for landlords, tenants, and agents to jump directly to sections such as the kitchen, living room, bedrooms, meter readings, keys, and inventories. Adobe's bookmark tutorial can be found here:

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/page-thumbnails-bookmarks-pdfs.html

For privacy, I would use Acrobat's Redact tool rather than simply covering information with black boxes. Redaction permanently removes the underlying data from the PDF, which is important if you're sharing copies with multiple parties. For signing, Request E-signatures is generally the better option because tenants can review and sign on a phone, tablet, or computer, and the signing process is tracked. Yes, use Redact for removing tenant details, and yes, Request E-signatures is practical for tenants signing from a phone. Also keep an unredacted master copy and the original photos for your records. That is usually the safest workflow for documents that may later be used as evidence.

Since these reports may be relied upon months later during a deposit dispute, I would keep an untouched master copy, create separate redacted versions when needed, retain the original photos, and avoid repeatedly re-saving or recompressing the final PDF. Keeping the original files, photographs, and signed final report can be valuable if questions arise later.