How to reduce or minimize pdf file size on mac without losing too much quality?

Do a Save As... of the file, and in the save window, for "Quartz Filter" choose "Reduce File Size".

Check the resulting file before sending. Usually the result is a much smaller file, but still very much legible, but depending on the content, sometimes (although rarely for me) the result may be of noticeably lower quality.

NOTE: if you don't see "Save As" in the File menu, hold down the Option key.

How to minimize PDF file size Mac? Preview is the default PDF viewer on every Mac, and it has a hidden "Reduce File Size" feature built right in.

This method is great for a quick fix, it might make images in your PDF look great. It's perfect for sharing a draft via email.

If you are learning how to minimize PDF file size Mac. ColorSync Utility is a lesser-known built-in macOS application that gives you detailed control over PDF compression. Unlike Preview's aggressive default compression, ColorSync lets you create custom filters that balance file size with image quality.

To minimize PDF file size Mac with ColorSync Utility – Create a custom filter with 150 DPI resolution and 70% JPEG quality. This is native, free, and gives you predictable results

Want to know how to minimize PDF file size Mac style using free tools? Try Ghostscript in Terminal. First install Homebrew, then run brew install ghostscript. Navigate to your PDF's folder using cd ~/Desktop.

Then type: gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -sOutputFile=compressed.pdf original.pdf.

The /ebook preset balances quality and size perfectly for mixed text and images. It sounds technical, but just copy-paste the commands.

Your massive 100MB PDF will shrink to around 15MB while staying readable. No paid software needed.

Some PDFs that are already fully compressed, will grow in size when one attempts to compress them further (e.g. Reduce File Size). There is a trade-off between the desired size and legibility.

Have you solved your problem yet?