Scanned document size is much too large, cannot make it smaller

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Level 1

28 points

Scanned document size is much too large, cannot make it smaller

Why are scanned documents coming out so large?

I frequently scan important documents, and have noticed a significant change in the file sizes that are generated using Mac OS's built in scanner application. For example, i have been scanning my my pay stubs for years, using the lowest possible quality settings available (Text, 100 DPI, US Letter size, PDF format). I have a track record of many years that shows a single page used to come out around ~50kb. Recently, using the same, lowest possible settings they are coming out at 283 kb! >500% increase? what gives?

Scanning a handful of pages in color at a modest resolution results in these huge 10-15mb files, this was never the case before. Googling around doesn't provide any answers. Am I the only one noticing this? This seems excessively large and I cannot figure out any way to make decent scans at a reasonable size.

Did something change about how the PDF files are encoded?

Was this something that happened after the jump to Sierra?

MacBook Air

MacOS 10.12.5

Brother MFC-L2740DW printer/scanner

MacBook Air, macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on May 29, 2017 7:51 PM

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Answer 1

n142yx Author

Level 1

28 points

May 29, 2017 8:29 PM in response to n142yx

Update: I just tried scanning the same letter three times, all at 100dpi, under the "Text" "Black & White" and "Color" options under the "Kind" drop down. All in PDF format.

The document was a simple typed letter with text covering 25% of the page, a colored company logo in the top left corner and some letter head at the bottom.

Results:

Text = 145kb

Black & White = 136kb

Color = 140kb

Whats up with that? The "Text" setting scan looks horrible. It is readable, but thats about it. Why does this result in a LARGER file size than the color setting?

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