FrameMaker 2019 How to make PDF smaller?

[Joel9991]

Hi all, so I have started using FM2019 and today updated an existing PDF we have with the new 2019 version. Didn't change any content, or any settings, other than a few PDF settings so it would display correctly.

The old PDF (made in FM2017) is 4260KB.

The new PDF (FM2019) is 25,389KB.

I have checked around in the PDF options but cannot find anything to make the size smaller.

In FM2017, I used "High Quality Print" setting using Bookmarks, Tags, etc.

In FM2019 I used the same settings "High Quality Print" reproduced from 2017.

It is an 88 page manual with a fair number of images - but with the two documents exactly the same, why would it suddenly enlarge by so much?

Any ideas what might be bloating this file?

Thanks!

Joel

[LinSims · Accepted solution]

I have no idea why the file is bloating so much, but it may have to do with the fact that Adobe completely replaced the old Distiller engine, that depended on Windows, with a self-contained one that has no such dependencies. I think they got tired of Windows updates breaking Distiller's ability to create PDFs. 

Have you tried using the File > Save As Other > Reduced Size PDF after the PDF is created?

[Joel9991]

Thank you for the suggestion to use Reduce Size PDF in Acrobat! That helped immensely. 25,389KB turned into 1,861KB - I did get an error message in Acrobat "The PDF document contained image masks that were not downsampled" but I cannot see any differences between the original PDF and the new one! Awesome workaround.

Amitoj, I can send you those files as requested, to hopefully figure out why it is so much larger.

Thanks!

Joel

[LinSims]

I get that one too, but since I don't really want the images downsampled, that's okay. I also keep getting one about the PDF document containing javascript, but it doesn't seem to affect the result, either.

Glad it worked for you! I find it very useful.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Have you loaded all updates to FM2019? There were PDF fixes put out after the initial release IIRC. Are you using the Publish route or Print to Adobe PDF method?

[Amitoj]

Hi Joel

Can you share the sample book/ditamap with me so we could look into this. Will also need the sts file you are using and High Quality job options (.joboptions) that you were using with the older distiller route. This would  help us to look at this issue. We are working on further optimizing the pdf.

Thanks

Amitoj Singh

amitosin@adobe.com