PDF Reduce File Size makes certain pdfs HUGE

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PDF Reduce File Size makes certain pdfs HUGE

Generally reduce file size works great for me but certain files, those coming from someone using Microsoft Publisher in particular, result in larger pdfs. She sends me newsletters for a website and sometimes the 3 page pdfs are 2-4mb. I tried opening in Preview and re-saving them using the Reduce File Size filter and the result is that they ballon up to 50-100mb!! Info for the file reveals that the pdf producer is GPL Ghostscript 8.15 and the content creator is PScript5.dll Version 5.2.2. I seem to be able to open and reduce file size using Acrobat so I'm not quite sure why Preview is choking on them.

MacBook Pro, MacMini, iPad, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Jan 29, 2011 9:29 AM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

200,754 points

Jan 29, 2011 10:54 AM in response to geekinthegarden

geekinthegarden wrote:

Generally reduce file size works great...

Microsoft Publisher...Ghostscript...PScript5.dll

I seem to be able to open and reduce file size using Acrobat so I'm not quite sure why Preview is choking on them.

Hi geekinthegarden- This does not surprise me. There are many variations and reiterations in specifications of the PDF format.

Going from Ghostscript language interpreter, to Apple in rendering could introduce complications which we will not be able to sort out in this forum encapsulating a complete description of a fixed-layout 2D documents that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2D vector graphics which compose the documents.

Suffice to say it is not a perfect science.

Print PDF has a compress PDF file option as well as ColorSynch in your /Utilities folder +reduce file size+ option for PDF's. This may or may not be of use.

You found your workaround using Acrobat, this is part of the value of having more than one PDF viewer, good computing!

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