reduce file size

It has been my experience in the print game (and consulting with biznesses) that most folks don't pay close enough attention to their source images...

• in Photoshop (or other versatile app)
  • resize your images to the actual physical size that which they will appear on the page

    most folks resize in their target document = wasted 'space' regarding filesize

  • make sure your PPI resolution is appropriate for your target printer(s)

    most folks don't really understand print resolution - it pays to teach oneself

• Consider making Two PDF documents - one grayscale - one color

  desaturate your images in Photoshop - it will do the best job of converting your colors to grayscale

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walter

OK. You have the cart way out in front of the proverbial horse already.

In my expert opinion, you are gonna need to start over (almost). I will give you a strategy, but, bottom line, your images are compartmentalized too deeply already for any App to perform a 'batch process' on them.

PLAN, Plan, plan your work - TEST your planned WorkFlow - then work your plan.

Factors

• Since you are selling the book online to be printed, read as is, or whatever by the Buyer - the printing results are their problem, in reality. Your 'test results' of printing grayscale are your, and yours alone. If it were me, I would not concern myself with a grayscale version
• images - I would 'standardize' physical print sizes on the page(s) as much as possible - it will lend itself to 'batch processing'

Tools

• Pages will do what you need to author your book
• Photoshop is all I have ever used for a couple of decades - it is possible that the version of Preview.app that comes with Mountain Lion is capable of resizing and desaturating the images
  PHOTOSHOP has a Free Trial

Test a workflow

• assuming Preview will do the job
  • measure you image with a ruler on a printed page
  • resize the original image file in Preview
    • target resolution for a typical inkjet printer - 300dpi is more than enough (you are NOT printing a book to be published for a bookstore = 'fine commercial printing"
    • inches you measured with the ruler
  • Save AS a new filename - never overwrite any image file - save 'iterations' in case of a mess up
  • Desaturate (convert to grayscale color space) - IF you decide that this is what you want to do.
  • Repeat this process for about 10 test pages (you will use the finished file size of the test project to estimate the FINAL project's file size)
• Assemble in Pages - 20 pages or so
  • Save As "test"
  • EXPORT as PDF - test.pdf
  • record filesize
  • extrapolate file size of FINAL.pdf - use a calculator if it appears to be 'close' to your limit for CreateSpace

Create your final product

• pre-press prep your images
  • I have no idea whether Preview will do this job
  • it seems your goal should be to use a tool that will batch process all of any given print sizes - Photoshop can create an "Action" to do this
• Get down to the dirty work - the GOOD NEWS is, you have already done it once, so decision making time and the actual writing of content are out of the timeline

I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but I do not know how to salvage the over-sized finished product - unless it is already 'CLOSE' - then you could selectively edit your book, OR selectively resize images until you reached the target size.

If you need further advice, don't hesitate to ask.

If it were me, and I hoped to have a flawless finished product, I would start over from scratch - and call it a lesson learned the hard way.

You're welcome, amigo

hobby - BIG hobby project!! The biggest lesson is the - Plan > test > Do > test again - process.

Aw shucks! 😊 [toeing gravel]

The friends & family factor requires desaturation, I guess - maybe not. Since you have a fixed target audience, you can recruit "typical" folks for each printer type during your test phase (of 10 pages)

Another option for distribution you should then consider is a Cloud Share Service. I don't use iCloud, but DropBox > https://www.dropbox.com/ < which I use is VERY easy to use and SHARE with others, integrates into the Finder and has 2 GB free for the Basic service. There are many others. With this option, you need do nothing at all to meet your file size constraints.

You may also want to consider a "Free" website hosting service. I use > http://www.000webhost.com/ < 1500 MB GB of storage space - 100 GB transfer/month. This of course would require another 'learning curve' for creating web pages - OR use the WYSIWYG Website Builder > http://www.000webhost.com/website-builder

You have your content - re-purpose it and no one need print at all! < with the webpage option, there will be no need for any of the pre-press modifications of your images (I am pretty sure the WYSIWYG builder should allow resizing images somehow with 'handles' on the images or with a dialog entry or two)

You have some cogitating to do,methinks 😉

EDIT - webhost storage

• 1500 MB (megabytes)
• 1.5 GB (gigabytes)

this is a great idea > Desaturate a Pages document?

So I don't make folks think it already has someone's attention, I will not comment until some smart and clever person takes the bait

What I will do is ask the Hosts to move this to the Pages Forum 😉

will follow as lurker while as well.

'Twas nuttin'

I guess I'm still not totally clear about your entire 'battle plan' - I failed to mention the very 1st step that I as a consultant employ = "Discovery" = all there is about target audience, and the 'venue' delivery device(s)

Are YOU gonna print and distribute paper books? OR are they gonna print on their own printers? Something else? (not that it matters much, just for my own understanding)

I saw that... I would have been astonished if it had worked for all you need - your question was too narrow - you have much more to do than desaturate IN the file - it does not address your file size issue and cannot - it is ColorSync is all and surprisingly it can parse the colorspace of the PDF contents

Let me clarify exactly what a PDF is. It is a "container" file developed by Adobe for sharing a document across platforms and OSes. It can have selectable and searchable text, images, QT movies IN it.

What I understand that have already done is that you are treating each "page' AS an Image - like a JPG or PNG or TIFF file. It CAN do that as you know, but it not intended for that purpose.

In Pages.app, you should type (or paste) your text, import and position your images (already the size you want them) until you are completely finished.

THEN export that AS a PDF for your audience to print.

IF you are gonna print it yourself for distribution in paper form, you DO NOT need to Export it at all.

Apple learned everything it knows about Color and Images FROM Adobe - back in the early days, 3rd party developers helped make Apple the Go To platform for graphic design and desktop publishing - they 'collaborated', in other words. No more.

Your next should be to start again by prepping your images - then copy/pasting text from your source document while inserting images as you go along.

If Pages will allow 'linking external image files' - you could simply swap the Color Folder with the Grayscale Folder at export to PDF or Print time.

Your color issue is moot if you cannot get the file size down to the site's size limit.

As I said before, this is not what you want to hear. Your images' data by the is being 'thrown away' by the Raster Image Processing (RIP) printer driver software that sends the printer 'what to print and where and what color' on the page - its a DOT Pattern in Dots Per Inch (DPI)

**** the torpedoes full speed ahead got you where you are.

How about this... Walter's Book, Vol.3 - Parts I & II ??

Two files of <400MB each - heck, THREE if need be!!

walter13 wrote:

Thanks for staying with me, CCC.

You're correct: desaturation was not useful.

Yes, I made each page a PDF or TIFF image: each is a page from my weekly 3-5 page blog.

CreateSpace will print both books: B&W and Color.

I have a proof of the B&W and it is not as sharp or black as Vol. II, since the compression has gone from 1.3GB down to 118MB.

[Volume II didn't have as many color pics etc.]

If I can't find another way to compress it less, but under 400MB, I might have to live with it.

[After all, it's a freebie to family and friends--just not up to my standard…and, therefore, I would be forced to live with the 'decisions' --mistakes--I made in putting it together.]

I haven't asked for a proof of the color volume yet--waiting to see if I can solve the compression issue.

My marching orders seem to be:

1. compress to more than 128 and less than 400--if there's some way to do that w/o losing resolution.

2. if not able to: examine proof of color version.

3. if color version acceptable, go as-is with both books.

4. if color version not acceptable, take your final advice: truncate the book to fit under 400MB--by cutting at least 50 pages.

Does that make sense to you?

Continual thanks…walter

CreateSpace will print both books

Aha! Eureka! Abracadabra! Presto Change-O !!!

CreateSpace is your "commercial printer" - you are their customer = the customer is always right!

Why are you wanting a grayscale version at all?

I thought this all arose from YOUR printing device and/or your audience's devices - i.e., SELF Publishing physically/

This is a customer service issue by your service provider - commercial printer CreateSpace

Filesize

They are simply outputting your pages - numbered, etc. - simply split your book in to two or three files and tell them to collate them (bind?) for you. This is something the 'copy room' employee has done for eons.

Grayscale (again, why?)

• It is incumbent on them to output grayscale on a printer of high quality - they are not using a printer bought for <$200 at OfficeMax - they have the top-of-the-line printers capable of running 24/7 till they run out of consumables.
• TONER (as opposed to inkjet) laser printers have been capable of printing color images in grayscale at print time with NO Special efforts for decades - I did Fine Quality (600 dpi) grayscale of color original files on an Apple Laserwriter IIg (Canon engine) many many moons ago.
  • For Fine Commercial Printing, I output to FILM for making printing plates at 1200 dpi C-M-Y-K = four passes down the press
  • Today's 'digital' PRESSES only ACT like a office printer in that they are Easy to Operate - all the plate-making and inks are self-contained in the press - humans basically feed it paper

Note the distinction between a "Printer" (a device that sits on a desktop) and Press (a device device that sits on the floor of a big room)

"Heidelberg digital press"

I empathize, amigo... My dog of 15 years passed in the Spring - My Mom is 89 w/ Alzheimer's.

fingers x-ed on your print job - let us know

buenos tardes

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