How much can I compress a PDF?

Typical reductions are 40-80%. Image-heavy PDFs compress more than text-only documents. A 20MB scan might compress to 3MB; a 500KB text PDF might only reach 400KB.

Does compression affect text quality?

Text stored as vector data (most modern PDFs) is not affected by compression. Text stored as images (scanned documents) can lose sharpness at high compression levels.

Can I compress a PDF multiple times?

Technically yes, but each pass degrades image quality further with diminishing returns on file size. Compress once from the original at your desired level.

Why is my compressed file still large?

The PDF may contain vector graphics or fonts rather than images. These compress minimally. The document may also already be optimized by its creator.

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