Help - Optimizing PDF rmoves tags and alt text even when selecting not to remove these

Hi @agile_Miracle5DD0, 

I took a quick look at your PDF and found some items that might be causing the bloated file size.

1. Graphics. It has hundreds of graphics throughout the 168 pages, each one adding to the size of the file. They are a combination of bitmapped photos, bitmapped maps, and other file formats for the icons and illustrations. Depending upon how those graphics were created and which file format they were exported to, they could be contributing to the bloated file size.
2. Story threads. Every text frame adds to the file size, whether it contains just a word or a page's worth

of text. So one theory we teach in our Accessible InDesign classes is to minimize the number of text frames used to lay out the project. Without seeing the INDD files, I can't tell from the PDF how well it was constructed.

3. Fonts. Every font adds to the file size. I recognize that the project is dual-language and, therefore, will have more fonts than other types of documents, but there might be places where different weights of National could be merged. Example, both National Regular/Italic and National Medium/Italic are used; these are so similar, you might want to consider using just one weight. I doubt it will affect the overall visual design.

4. Page count and complexity. 168 pages with many visual details (rules, borders, color blocks, tables, etc.) add to the file size, too.

In terms of tags and accessibility, the PDF you posted fails. It's nearly totally inaccessible at any level, and only 2 out of 168 pages have tags: pages 157 and 158. I don't know if this is the original PDF as exported from InDesign, or it's from an attempt to optimize the file and lost the tags along the way.

But it does give a clue: If this file — without tags — is bloated, then it's something other than the tags that's causing the file bloat.

The colors chosen for text need to be checked with a good contrast checker. We highly recommend WebAim's Contrast Checker at https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/ Areas that might not be compliant are:

• Blue text on black background, page 6
• Blue heading text, page 7
• White text on blue background, page 7
• Small blue text, page 17
• All of the text in color, page 22-23
• All of the green text in section 2, starting on page 31
• All of the red-orange text in section 3, starting on page 36
• All of the aqua text in section 4, starting on page 39
• All of the orange text in section 5, starting on page 43
• All of the blue text in section 6, starting on page 47
• All of the lime green text in section 7, starting on page 50
• All of the redish in section 8, starting on page 68
• All of the aqua text in section 9, starting on page 78
• All of the orange text in section 10, starting on page 89
• The reversed text in the color bars of the financial section, starting on page 97

I know New Zealand has requirements for accessible ICT and am just letting you know that this file doesn't even come close to meeting the accessibility standards.

Hope this helps,

—Bevi

I have actually just found a document that we had trouble with last year.  I'm not sure what it means by "Document Overheads".

There doesn't seem to be an option to reduce (or optimize) that keeps the tags and alt text. 

You have to do some tests because it depends on what is in the INDD file, there is no universal settings.