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Reducing PDF file size with a Quartz filter

by Mat Lu Dec 12th 2007 at 8:00AM



Apple has an interesting video tip up this week on reducing the file size of graphic intensive PDFs created from the Print dialog. In their example they make a PDF from a Keynote presentation containing lots of graphics, and substantially reduce its size by selecting the "Reduce File Size" Quartz filter in the ColorSync options of the Print Dialog before choosing "Save as PDF..." from the PDF drop-down menu. In their example, without the filter the resulting PDF is 5.3MB and with the filter it's only 632KB. So I thought I'd give it a try on some of my own documents. But then I ran into a problem.

The Print dialog ColorSync access to Quartz filters has disappeared in Leopard. The video tip was made with Tiger; it seems a little bit ironic that they would release it now with a feature that is no longer available in Leopard. However, digging around a little bit I discovered a work-around. The Quartz filters are still available on the Save dialog box in the Preview application (above). So to achieve the same effect when you're in the Print dialog instead of choosing "Save as PDF..." from the drop down menu rather hit the "Preview" button, which opens the PDF in the Preview application. You can now "Save as..." and when you do the Quartz filter drop-down menu will appear, including the "Reduce File Size" filter. Give it a name and save it and you'll have your smaller PDF.

In my own testing using the "Reduce File Size" filter did noticeably degrade the quality of images in the PDF, but the file size savings were significant as well. It would actually be nice if there were more granularity so you could have some control over the compromise between file size and image quality. Nonetheless, if you have to shrink a graphics intensive PDF for emailing, etc. this can be a handy tip.

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Apple has an interesting video tip up this week on reducing the file size of graphic intensive PDFs created from the Print dialog. In their...
 

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16 Comments

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ecobore

funny, I have tried this in the past, but I also tried 'email PDF' and it produced a smaller file - so go figure!

January 14 2008 at 4:57 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jerome

I have actually put 8 different filters for various PDF compression qualities here http://idisk.mac.com/jcolas-Public
Just download and put the Filters folder in your /Library/ or ~/Library/ folder.
Enjoy.

December 15 2007 at 4:34 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jerome

It is possible to edit these filters with Colorsync utility (in Leopard, but I guess this also exists in Tiger)
By creating a filter that samples graphics at 150dpi, and compresses them at average JPEG quality, I manage to compress PDFs in a way that is both (at least for my graphic loaded PPTs and Keynote presentations)
- good enough to be printable
- small enough for emails
That is quite comparable (in file size) to Adobe PDF standard quality, free .... and works with Leopard

The filters are located in the /Library/Filters/ or ~/Library/Fiters/ folder.
If you are really lazy, you can download the one I use (150 dpi, average JPEG compression) here, then put the unzipped folder in your Library folder : http://idisk.mac.com/jcolas-Public

You can use the filter from Preview's Save dialog, when saving to PDF.

Hope this helps.

Jérôme.

December 15 2007 at 3:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Maxwell

I just tried "Reduce File Size" with Preview in Tiger on the (excellent) Zen to Done e-book, and it grew from 1.1MB to 2.8MB. I'll stick with PDFshrink.

December 12 2007 at 11:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mr.Clicky

PDF Shrink...costs money but works a treat with a bunch of options for intended use (email, print with quality etc) thrown in.

December 12 2007 at 6:32 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mark Sponsler

Thanks for the tip. I didn't want to have to buy something like Acrobat Pro in order to do something like this. No, you definitely would not want to use the result for printing. However, it's a great way to reduce the size of something you want to email. BTW, Spizz's tip worked for a slightly smaller file, but didn't look quite as good as the original tip using the quartz filter. YMMV.

December 12 2007 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Peter Cook

In my testing "Reduce File Size" in Acrobat Pro does a much better job with smaller files and better quality.

December 12 2007 at 10:32 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Peter Cook's comment
Keith Symmers

I have Acrobat Pro. If in Word, I print to Acrobat, in the box under Presets, there's a PDF Options choice (along with paper handling, copies, etc.). On that page, there's a choice for Adobe PDF Settings, with an option to select Smallest File Size. Doing a normal print, a one-page Word file with a big Excel chart on it was 124KB. Using the "smallest file size" option, the file was only 52KB.

February 15 2008 at 8:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
STrRedWolf

Be careful with those. From what I read, it looks like they're forcing all bitmapped graphics to be JPEG compressed... which is very bad for PDF's destined for a printer.

December 12 2007 at 10:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to STrRedWolf's comment
Mat Lu

Yeah, I wouldn't do this for something destined for print. The idea is to use it for emailing, etc.

December 12 2007 at 11:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
thinktwice

I was trying compress a PDF the other day and noticed that the Compress PDF option that used to be in Tiger was now gone in Leopard. A quick Google search got me this from Apple's Website http://tinyurl.com/ynw7gu Compress PDF. It's an Automator action.

Works great!

December 12 2007 at 9:15 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kjg1

You can get the same effect by choosing the option "Compress PDF" under the PDF option in print dialog box. No need to go through extra dialogs as with the quartz filter.

December 12 2007 at 8:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to kjg1's comment
Mat Lu

Actually, the "Compress PDF" option is gone from the "PDF..." drop-down menu in Leopard.

December 12 2007 at 11:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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