PDF Simplu
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Compress a scanned PDF
a lot.

Scanners and copiers often save pages at high resolution. The strong level is selected and turns big scans into manageable files.

Compress PDF

Choose a PDF and a target size. You get a smaller PDF in which the text stays selectable.

Drop PDFs here

or choose files from your device

PDF files · up to 50 MB each

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Compress PDF · Scanned PDF

What you need to know

Why scanned PDFs are so large

Every page is an image, often at 300 DPI and in colour, even when it's only black text. Ten pages like that easily reach 20 MB or more.

What the compression does

The page images are saved again at a lower resolution with stronger compression. That's almost always enough for screens and uploads.

Tips for the next scan

  • Choose 150 to 200 DPI on the copier instead of 300 or 600.
  • Black and white or greyscale for text-only documents.
  • With a phone: Scan to PDF with the black and white filter.

Quick guide

How to shrink a PDF without making it unreadable

Most large PDFs are large because of photos or scans. The tool shrinks the images and leaves the text and layout alone.

  1. Choose the PDFDrag the file into the area or pick it from your device.
  2. Choose a target sizeFor example 2 MB for a government portal or 10 MB for an email attachment.
  3. Download the smaller PDFYou see straight away how much smaller the file has become.

Frequently asked questions

Answers before you start

Can the scan be searched afterwards?

A scan contains images, not text. You can only search it after text recognition (OCR).

Will the scan become unreadable?

With the strong level, normal text stays readable. Check small print by zooming into the result.