Your PDF is 14 MB. The form takes 7. You don't want it to look worse — just smaller.
Most PDFs can lose half their size without anyone noticing. The trick is knowing what's safe to squeeze.
Find the bulk first
Most PDF bloat is images. Text and vector graphics weigh almost nothing. A 14 MB PDF with embedded photos can drop to 5-7 MB by recompressing the photos alone.
If the file is text-only and still huge, the bloat is probably embedded fonts or attachments. Strip metadata and check the attachments panel.
Use medium compression first
Open the PDF in Flint's compressor and try the Medium setting. For most documents, this halves the size with no visible quality difference.
If the result isn't small enough, step up to High. The quality difference is usually only visible at high zoom on detailed images.
Check the result at actual size
Open the compressed file at 100% zoom. Compare to the original. For typical office documents, you won't be able to tell which is which.
For portfolios or print-quality material, be more conservative. Compress to Medium only and check at zoomed-in detail before sending.
FAQ
What's the most a PDF can be compressed?
Depends on contents. Text-only PDFs are already small. Image-heavy PDFs can compress 80-90%. Scan-derived PDFs often compress most.
Does compression remove pages or content?
No. Page count and content are unchanged. Only image quality and embedded data shrink.
Will the compressed PDF print at the same quality?
At Medium setting, yes. At High, prints may look slightly softer on photographs — text stays crisp.
Can I compress multiple PDFs at once?
Yes — drop the lot into Flint's compressor. Each file is processed individually with the same settings.
Half-size with no visible loss is a realistic target for most PDFs. Drop yours into Flint's compressor and check the before/after.