How to Drastically Reduce PDF Size with Patterns?

[Design_Lady]

Hi guys,

I see so many posts about this but I never see an answer that works.

I am a graphic designer for a small company and I make presentations in Adobe Illustrator 2020.

Here's my issue- My files are enormous. Some people say there files are huge but they are like 24MB. The one I am working with is 260.4MB. Ideally it would need to be under 10 or 15MB to send in email. I know that is asking A LOT.

The file is 6 pages 8.5 x 11in. artboards. Attached is one of the artboards. They include type, jpg images, vector shapes and patterns. Something about patterns makes files huge but I need to use patterns. Am I making patterns wrong? Object> pattern> make.

Is there an option in there to make patterns not take up so much file space?

 

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

You can try if saving a copy (important!!!) as PDF and then unchecking "Illustrator editability" makes it smaller.

But that is basically it. There are just an awful lot of paths in your file and I suppose there are also large images and the like.

So maybe exporting the artboards as raster files in a barely sufficient resolution will make smaller files. You can automatically rasterize the complete page by forcing a specific transparency flattening when exporting.

[bodbmerlin]

I used the uncheck "Illustrator editability" and it the file went from 8.9mb to 5.2mb. It's smaller but since the original PDF was 502kb, I'm bwildered!

I don't understand how a PDF file that is 502kb swell to 8.9mb.

Suggestions?

[Monika Gause]

Which other options did you check? There are a couple of images in the file - did you turn on compression?

[bodbmerlin]

Hi Monika,

I've tried everything to make the file smaller, I now have 19 versions of it!

Is it normal for Illustrator to make the original file almost 20 times it's original size? Seems a bit odd.

I opened the original file in Illustrator so I could outline the text as the fonts in the oricinal aren't universal. It also enabled me to line up the 22 pages vertically so I could make everything align correctly.

I even saved one with all the text out lined thinking it would make the file smaller as there would be no fonts to embed...nope. Still large 

[Monika Gause]

Outlined text makes the file larger, not smaller.

But the images might also play a role. Did you compress them?