How to Export a Smaller PDF File Size in InDesign Without Compromising Quality

[Marc Galonske]

Hallo zusammen

in InDesign habe ich ein Portfolio (DIN A4, 34 Druckbögen) erstellt.

Die Inhalte sind unifarbene Füllflächen, Textelemente, Planzeichnungen (PDF) und Bildmaterial (JPG).

Wenn ich dieses ohne weitere Einstellungen als PDF exportiere erhalte ich ein Dokument mit 130 MB.

Mit den Feineinstellungen, wie bikubische Neuberechnung der Inhalte oder generelle dpi-Dichte kenne ich mich nicht sehr gut aus.

So bin ich auf der Suche nach Tipps zur generellen Einstellung im PDF-export, welche helfen, die Dateigröße etwas geringer zu halten, die Qualität der Inhalte des Portfolios allerdings nicht gänzlich leiden lassen.

english:

Hello everyone

In InDesign I have created a portfolio (DIN A4, 34 sheets).

The contents are plain-colored filling areas, text elements, plan drawings (PDF) and visual material (JPG).

If I export this as a PDF without further settings, I get a document with 130 MB.

I am not very familiar with the adjustments, such as bicubic recalculation of the contents or general dpi density.

So I am looking for tips for the general setting in the PDF export, which help to keep the file size a little smaller, but do not let the quality of the contents of the portfolio suffer completely.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Abhishek Rao · Accepted solution]

Hi @Phenotype,

I understand the need to balance file size and quality in your PDF export. Here are some tips to help you reduce the file size without compromising too much on quality:

1. Export as PDF (Smallest File Size):
   - Go to File > Export and choose Adobe PDF (Smallest File Size) from the format dropdown.
   - In the Export Adobe PDF dialog, navigate to the "Compression" tab.

2. Adjust Image Compression:
   - For Color Images and Grayscale Images, set the Image Quality to Medium or Low.
   - Set the Resolution to 150 dpi or less for web use (higher if needed for print).

3. Next, you can Optimize the PDF:
   - In the General tab, ensure that "Optimize for Fast Web View" is checked.
   - This setting helps to reduce the file size by compressing the images and content more efficiently.

4. Ensure that your document does not contain any hidden or unused objects that might be increasing the file size.

5. Subset Fonts:
   - In the Advanced tab, select 'Subset fonts when percent of characters used is less than' and set it to a lower percentage (e.g., 100%).

If you still find the file size too large, you might want to explore additional compression tools to further reduce it.

Feel free to share any specific settings you’re using or any additional details if you need more tailored advice. Leaving the discussion open for more insights from our esteemed Community experts.

Thank you,  
Abhishek Rao

[Marc Galonske]

hello @Abhishek Rao 

thanks for your help!

The settings you gave me made the file size drop from 130 MB to 100 MB.

I'll see what else I can do to further reduce the file size.

[Abhishek Rao · Accepted solution]

Hi @Marc Galonske,

I’m glad to hear that the adjustments helped reduce your file size from 130 MB to 100 MB! It's great to see that you're making progress. 

If you need further assistance or have any more questions about optimizing your PDF, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help!

Best of luck with your portfolio 

Thank you, 
Abhishek Rao

[Laubender]

Hallo @Marc Galonske ,

Du kannst Deine exportierte PDF-Datei auch in Acrobat Pro öffnen und dort in der Datenmenge verkleinert speichern.

Falls beispielsweise Bilder in CMYK platziert sind, könnte es sich lohnen, das PDF nach sRGB zu konvertieren. Drei Farbkanäle anstatt vier spart Dateiumfang. Bin gerade im Acrobat mit englischer Sprache unterwegs.

Acrobat Pro

File > Save As Other > Reduced Sized PDF…

Da solltest Du fündig werden. Auf jeden Fall das mal ausprobieren…

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

[rob day]

The contents are plain-colored filling areas, text elements, plan drawings (PDF)

Hi @Marc Galonske , Depending on the complexity of the vectors, architect drawings can add significant size to your PDF—image compression settings would not affect the vector drawings. If you portfolio is for screen viewing only you might try converting a copy of the drawings to hi res bitmaps— in that case the compression settings would have an affect.