Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

redshft

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
49
0
NC
I have a .pdf that I'm trying to send via email for a print job. It's a pretty large file at 264 MB. When I "right click" and use the compress function, it takes it down to 233 MB which is still too large for an email attachment. Is there any other way besides loading to an FTP server? Thanks.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
print job


This means that image integrity is important. How was the PDF created? And with what settings? What kind of material is it? How many pages? How many plates?

264Mb is massive, even for a PDF going to press. The best way to deal with it is to go back to the source file and revisit the PDF creation settings.
 

pdjudd

macrumors 601
Jun 19, 2007
4,037
65
Plymouth, MN
I have a .pdf that I'm trying to send via email for a print job. It's a pretty large file at 264 MB. When I "right click" and use the compress function, it takes it down to 233 MB which is still too large for an email attachment. Is there any other way besides loading to an FTP server? Thanks.

I don't think you are going to be compressing a file that large down to something that you can email as an attachment - the only real amount of space that you can save is by compressing images. You're talking about cutting way more space.

What kind of limits are we talking about here? What does the PDF comprise of? You might want to consider mailing a large file after burning it to a disc. That's probably the only practical method (outside of uploading via the web) that won't result in lowering the quality of the document.

I don't think that you are going to get 75% compression though.
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
But let's say you don't have the source files so can't make a new PDF.

As well as mail, you have options like biking a CD or USB key if it's going across town... or if it has to go electronically, if I was in your shoes, I'd use Acrobat Pro to break it down into 3-4 sections and use something like YouSendIt (which has a 100mb free account limit per upload) to get those individual chunks over to prepress to be reassembled at their end.
 

Tumbleweed666

macrumors 68000
Mar 20, 2009
1,761
141
Near London, UK.
I have a .pdf that I'm trying to send via email for a print job. It's a pretty large file at 264 MB. When I "right click" and use the compress function, it takes it down to 233 MB which is still too large for an email attachment. Is there any other way besides loading to an FTP server? Thanks.

PDFs are compressed already so thats why you only got about 10%, plus it most likely contains several (maybe many) images,and those will almost certainly also be compressed already as well..

Without knowing more about the document its impossible to advise how to make it significantly smaller, (or even if its possible) for example, maybe it has a few unimportant photos in it which could be much reduced before putting in the file, or maybe it has lots of images that need precise detail and cant be made smaller at all.

You could try Mediafire which is a free service you can deposit files in and someone else can pick them up from. I've sent very large transmissions using that.
 

redshft

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 13, 2009
49
0
NC
This is what I was afraid of. The PDF was created in Photoshop by Photoshop PDF option. The file is 24''x36''. I'll admit, I'm not too familiar with the technical setup in the PDF settings, but I basically just used the default. I did notice I opted to save the layers instead of a copy. I just saved another copy and this dropped the file size to 72 MB and 39 MB compressed. Still too large. What other selections might I be missing in the settings?
 

Apple OC

macrumors 68040
Oct 14, 2010
3,667
4,328
Hogtown
ask your Printer if you can post it to their FTP site ... they most likely have something setup for that

if not ... try a service such as "YouSendit"

Edit ... sorry missed the yousendit posted above by BlueVelvet
 

Blue Velvet

Moderator emeritus
Jul 4, 2004
21,929
265
The PDF was created in Photoshop by Photoshop PDF option. The file is 24''x36''. I'll admit, I'm not too familiar with the technical setup in the PDF settings, but I basically just used the default.

Well, at least you have the source file. Photoshop PDFs can be a bit hit and miss.

I did notice I opted to save the layers instead of a copy. I just saved another copy and this dropped the file size to 72 MB and 39 MB compressed. Still too large. What other selections might I be missing in the settings?

Work on a copy of your file. Ensure that resolution is a minimum of 300 pixels per inch without resampling it, but no need to go higher. Flatten the layers, convert to CMYK if it's not already.

Use PDF X1/A if you can see it there in your PDF settings.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.