When Creating Multi-Page PDF from Multiple Files - How to make pages uniform size?

[Swimmer63]

I am creating a single, 8 page PDF from a number of 1-3 page files.  Some pages are images files, photos, some are already pdf's.  When the pages are combined in a single pdf, the pages that were photos, are twice the size of the pages that were not.  How do I get all the pages to the same uniform size?

[Swimmer63]

By the way, this is for Adobe Acrobat Pro 2017, Windows Desktop Version.  Old school.

[gary_sc]

Hi Swimmer,

Language can be complicated: when you say "the pages that were photos, are twice the size of the pages that were not" are you referring to measurement size or storage size(e.g., 8" x 11'5" OR 115 kb).

If the issue is storage size, the answer is simple: images are bitmapped images. That is they are composed of thousands of pixels and each one is a data bit. Text, on the other hand, are vector images where each segment of a pixel is one data bit. Therefore, a picture of text is significantly larger in storage size than standard text that can be resized.

Also, here's a piece of trivia: if you take a bitmapped image and double the measurement size (e.g., 4" x 5" to 8" x 10") the same image will then be 4 TIMES the storage size.

Does any of this help?

[Swimmer63]

Total sense. And the “photos of text” was my issue.

So I went back to the image files and resized them to 50%, then created a

pdf of the reduced image file. In the 8 page document I replaced the

oversized page with the 50% page and it was almost the same size as the

others.

So problem solved. But I appreciate the explanation.

Thanks!

[gary_sc · Accepted solution]

Hi Swimmer,

One last thing: if you have a "photo" of text, do you know you can convert that to "searchable text" with Acrobat?

That will not only dramatically decrease the storage size of the document but it will also let you copy text and search within the PDF.

Do to that, select the "Enhanced Scans" work tab and then select "Recognize Text" option (found on the top of the page (below the icons)).

Let me know if this helps,

[Swimmer63]

Thanks, Gary  -

Yes, I do.  I normally do that automatically.  But now that I think about

it, I did not realize that alone would have decreased the size.  If I had

just done that at the outset it would have been faster and cleaner.  But

the rest of the doc was already searchable and editable.  The kind where

you usually get an error if you try to Recognize Text.  So for those

reasons it never occurred to me.  But it will from now on.

Appreciate the gift of knowledge!

Thank you,

Michael Scheuring

[edited by moderator, removed personal info]

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[gary_sc]

Hi Swimmer,

Glad to hear that I provided an extra bit of "making your life easier."

BTW, I removed some personal information you placed in your last message.

Regrettably there are a number of trolls who peruse these forums who search for such things. While I did remove this once I saw it, others may have seen it before the personal content was deleted. Be wary of phone calls or emails (as if we do not have enough spam already, right?). Please, in the future watch out what you place in any forum.

Otherwise, glad to help...

[Swimmer63]

Thanks Gary. Well that’s not good. I guess have to strip down my email

signatures.

I have wondered what it is these trolls do for a living (or for a real

life) that they have the time to perpetually irate someone. I apparently

overlooked that industry when planning my career.