Author Topic: Managing file size when creating a PDF of images  (Read 1563 times)

Offline Glenna

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Managing file size when creating a PDF of images
« on: June 11, 2012, 01:41:18 PM »
I'm trying to create a PDF of 12 or so images with one image per page. I'm doing this by "printing" a contact sheet with one row and one column and then saving as a PDF. While each file is small (less than 500 kb) and a zip of the images is only 3 or 4 mb, the PDF is more than 13 mb. Is there any way to make this a more managable file size? Or a different work flow that results in a PDF?

I'm on PhotoMechanic 4.6.8 and a Mac OSX 10.6.8.

Thanks!

Offline Kirk Baker

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Re: Managing file size when creating a PDF of images
« Reply #1 on: June 12, 2012, 09:46:01 AM »
Glenna,

Have you tried zip compressing the PDF?  I would expect it to compress nicely.

-Kirk

Offline FVlcek

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Re: Managing file size when creating a PDF of images
« Reply #2 on: June 12, 2012, 12:46:50 PM »
Hi,

you are using OS X's built-in print-to-PDF functionality I think, right?

PDF in itself is a complex format, so some growth in size over the sum of the original file sizes is quite understandable.
However, you can set DPI inside the Photo Mechanic's Print dialog. The DPI value will have a huge effect on the resulting PDF size, so if you want only a PDF for emailing and viewing on screen, by all means set a lower DPI like 72 or 96 or what your target operating system's screen resolution is.