How to Reduce PDF File Size: 5 Simplest Methods

Oversized PDFs can slow down sharing and storage. Here are beginner-friendly solutions:

1. Downscale Image Quality

High-resolution images account for 90% of PDF bloat. Reduce images to 150-200 DPI via editors like GIMP or Preview.

2. Remove Unused Elements

Delete bookmarks, annotations, or embedded fonts using Adobe Acrobat's "Optimize PDF" tool.

3. Enable Monochrome Mode

Switch to grayscale in print settings (File > Print > Color > Black & White) for text-heavy files.

4. Split Multi-Page PDFs

Divide large documents into sections using free tools like PDFsam Basic.

5. Leverage Online Compression

Cloud-based tools like PDFSail use machine learning to shrink files by up to 80% without quality loss.

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