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- Gentlest setting that fits
Getting a PDF under 2 MB
2 MB is a common ceiling on upload forms, insurance claims and school portals. Photo-heavy PDFs and long scans are the usual reasons a file goes over.
We reduce the photos inside the PDF only as far as needed. The first setting keeps images at 300 dpi and high JPEG quality, and the search stops at the first setting that fits.
Tips
- Phone photos dropped into a document can be several megabytes each on their own.
- If the form accepts more than one file, splitting a long document keeps each part sharper.
- The original is deleted 5 minutes after the run finishes, so try other sizes before then.
Questions
How much does a phone photo inside my PDF shrink to get under 2 MB?
A 12 MP photo is 4032 x 3024 pixels. Placed 6 inches wide on a page, that is 672 dpi, so the first step's 300 dpi cap brings it to about 1800 x 1350 pixels at JPEG quality 90, roughly a fifth of the original pixel count. Lower steps only follow if the file still does not fit.
How much room does a 30-page scanned appendix get in a 2 MB PDF?
Thirty scanned pages sharing 2,000,000 bytes get about 66,700 bytes each, and the same setting applies to all of them. If the main document is text and the appendix is the scan, nearly all of the budget goes to the appendix pages.
Does the search for 2 MB try every setting?
No. It tries a few of the twelve settings and keeps the gentlest one under 2,000,000 bytes. They run from 300 dpi at JPEG quality 90 down to 50 dpi at quality 30, so a file far over 2 MB ends further down that list than one just over it.