I have a 25-page PDF that’s too large to email, and I’m worried compression will make the charts blurry. Is there a free way to shrink it without reducing quality?
Honestly, I find this annoying too, and to be fair there is rarely a free way to shrink an existing PDF with no quality loss. If you still have the original file, open it in Word, PowerPoint, or Excel and export it again after lowering the picture resolution. If not, I would just upload it to OneDrive or Google Drive and email the shared link.
Quick question first: are the charts images or vector graphics? Compression mostly hits images, so vector charts stay sharp either way. For a free tool, try iLovePDF or Smallpdf on the medium setting, then zoom in on a chart to check. If it’s still too big, split the PDF and send two emails.
Try PDF24’s optimise tool and select lossless compression, which can remove spare data and metadata without touching the charts. Avoid printing the PDF to PDF again, as that often makes files bigger and can blur images; if it’s still too large, split it into two files.
Honestly, lossless compression may only reduce it a little, especially if the charts are already optimized. I would upload the original to Google Drive, OneDrive, or iCloud and email a sharing link instead. Avoid printing it to a new PDF, since that can rasterize charts and make text blurry.
@guitar_mouse is definetly right about using cloud links! Whenever I have huge floor plans or vendor schedules that won’t attach, I just drop them in a shared folder so my clients see every detail perfectly. It saves so much frustration. What device do you normally use for your files?
@rando72836 Mostly a school laptop, though it is locked down so cloud links are the easy route. I still keep a backup copy of every original before I touch it, especially worksheet handouts. Same with the charts here: check first whether they are images or vector, because that decides if compressing hurts them.
If the charts are vector based (lines and text, not photos) compression barely touches them, its photos and scans that go blurry. Try a free compressor and check page by page before you send it.