Quick take
Try a smaller PDF before email, upload forms, or ticket attachments.
- Optimize a PDF before attaching it to an email.
- Try the recommended setting when you need a smaller file without much extra tuning.
Compress PDF
Browser-only PDF compression is mostly structural and may be modest for image-heavy files.
Good times to use it
Use Compress PDF for reducing PDF size before email, upload portals, support tickets, archives, and document handoff. It works well when you want a smaller downloadable PDF when compression can safely reduce the file and do not need a bigger workflow around it.
- Best fit: reducing PDF size before email, upload portals, support tickets, archives, and document handoff.
- You start with a PDF that is already in the right page order.
- The useful choices are compression level, image quality tradeoffs, and whether the document should stay visually close to the original.
- Check file size reduction, page readability, image artifacts, and whether form or signature behavior still matters.
- You end up with a smaller downloadable PDF when compression can safely reduce the file.
Use Compress PDF like this
- Start with a PDF that is already in the right page order.
- Choose compression level, image quality tradeoffs, and whether the document should stay visually close to the original.
- Run the tool once, then review file size reduction, page readability, image artifacts, and whether form or signature behavior still matters.
- Copy, export, or download a smaller downloadable PDF when compression can safely reduce the file.
- Open the finished file once before you send or archive it.
What usually goes wrong
- Most PDF size savings come from embedded images; text-heavy PDFs may not shrink much.
- Aggressive compression can make scans harder to read, so review important pages before sending the final file.
- Merge and split first, then compress the final document only once.
- Keep an original copy when compressing contracts, signed forms, or archival records.
What the page is doing
- The PDF is loaded locally with pdf-lib and saved again with selected output options.
- Compression is browser-only, so results are best for structural cleanup and may be limited for image-heavy PDFs.
- The optimized PDF is created as a local download without uploading the source file.
How your data is handled
PDF compression runs in your browser. Toolumina does not upload or store PDF files.
FAQ
Will this always make my PDF smaller?
No. Browser-only PDF compression can be modest, especially when the PDF already contains compressed images.
Are files uploaded for compression?
No. The file is loaded and saved locally in your browser.
Which compression level should I choose?
Recommended is the default. Use maximum compression for smaller files and lossless when preserving structure matters most.