Index
Online2PDF
If you prefer to have extensive control over the quality of the documents to be obtained, try using Online2PDF: it is a web service that allows you to optimize PDF documents by choosing between various quality levels, to eliminate the protections against printing and modification, to convert to and from the Excel format and much more. It supports the upload of up to 20 documents at the same time and has an overall upload limit of 150 MB (each file, however, cannot exceed 100 MB). Note that the data uploaded to its servers is deleted shortly after processing.
To put Online2PDF to the test immediately, connect to its home page and drag the documents to be lightened in the gray box where it says (or just drag your files here). Alternatively, select the files manually by pressing the button Select files and choosing the documents from your computer through the additional window that opens.
Next, click the button Compression which is located at the bottom left and indicates the quality levels you prefer from the drop-down menus Image quality e Resolution of images. To get PDFs with an optimal size / quality ratio, I advise you not to go below the80% quality and 300 dpi resolution.
To further reduce the size of your files, you can also choose to turn the document into black and white by selecting the option you prefer from the drop-down menu Colors / Black and white (placed a little lower).
Once you have adjusted the optimization parameters as you prefer, press the button Converted and wait for the documents to be processed first and then downloaded to your computer. It all happens automatically. Again, if you have not changed the default browser settings, the files will be saved in the folder Download of the PC.
PDF Compressor
Another good service you can turn to to compress your PDFs online is PDF Compressor. The name leaves no room for many doubts: it is a totally free and rather simple to use online application that allows you to compress the size of documents in PDF format directly from the browser window, in a rather practical and immediate way. It has no strict limits in terms of maximum weight of documents to act on and you can upload a maximum of 20 files at a time.
Note that, unlike other similar services, PDF Compressor does not act by changing the resolution of the files. Furthermore, it must be said that the service protects users' privacy by deleting the documents they see uploaded to its servers 1 hour after upload.
To use it, connect to the website of the service and drag it onto the page displayed, corresponding to the wording Drop your files here, the PDFs you want to compress. Alternatively, click on the button Upload files and manually select the files of your interest using the window that opens.
Then wait a few moments for the upload procedure to be completed and for the selected files to be compressed, after which you will be shown how much it was possible to reduce the size for each document, in correspondence with the relative preview.
To download individually compressed PDF files, press the button Download that you find on every preview. If, on the other hand, you have uploaded multiple files and you prefer to download them all together, in the form of a compressed archive, press the button Download everything which is located at the bottom. Unless you have made any changes to the default settings of the web browser you are using, you will find the output files in the folder Download Of computer.
iLovePDF
None of the tools I have already told you about convinced you in a particular way and are you looking for alternatives? Then you'd better put it to the test iLovePDF. This is another useful solution to perform the object operation. It allows you to process only one file at a time with a maximum weight of 80 MB.
Basically it is free and does not require registration, but to get around the limitations just mentioned you need to create an account on the site and sign up for a subscription to the Premium version (for a fee, at a cost of 3,99 euros / month). The service also protects the privacy of users by automatically deleting the documents that are uploaded to its servers a few hours after the upload.
You ask me how to make use of it? I'll tell you right away. First, connect to its home page and drag the document you intend to go to in the browser window. If dragging doesn't work, you can also select the document by clicking the button Select PDF file located in the center. If then your PDF is on dropbox or on Google Drive, you can upload it directly from there, after logging into your account, by clicking on the related icon placed on the right.
Once the upload is complete, select the compression level to apply to the PDF. Depending on what your needs are, you can choose from the following options by clicking on the relevant buttons located at the bottom.
- Compression recommended - optimizes the size of the PDF to the maximum without negatively affecting its visual quality.
- Maximum compression - allows you to compress PDFs to the maximum, but reducing their quality.
- Less compression - PDF quality is kept high but the returned files will be less "light".
Once you've made your choice, press the button Compress PDF placed at the bottom of the page and wait for the file to be processed first. Subsequently, it will be automatically downloaded to your computer, in the folder Download (always if you have not changed the default browser settings).
PDF Candy
PDF Candy is another great web tool that, in my opinion, you should try if you are looking to compress your PDF documents. It is totally free, very easy to use and does not require registration to work. Furthermore, it does not impose particular limits regarding the maximum weight of the files and the number of documents that can be uploaded daily.
To use it, connect to its official website and drag the PDF you are interested in taking into the browser window. You can also select the document manually by pressing the button + Add files in the center of the screen. If then the PDF is on your account dropbox o Google Drive, upload it directly from there by selecting the relevant ones icon and logging in.
Once uploaded, the compression of the file will start immediately, after which you will be shown how much it was possible to reduce its size and you can download the lightened document on your PC by pressing the button Download file. The document will be stored in the folder Download computer (if you have not changed the default settings of the browser). If you prefer, you can also save the file to one of the supported cloud storage services by clicking on its icon.
As for privacy, files uploaded to PDF Candy's servers are deleted within one hour. They are also never shared, disclosed or given to third parties.
Other services to compress PDF online
The services for compressing PDF online that I told you about in the previous lines are those that in my opinion are the best on the market. On the Net, however, there are also other equally valid solutions, as in the case of those I have indicated below. Put them to the test (after carefully reading their uploaded file privacy policies) and I'm sure they won't let you down.
- SodaPDF - allows you to compress PDF files automatically and quickly. The user also has the option to select the compression level as needed. All for free and without registration.
- PDFAID - other website belonging to the category covered by this guide. It allows you to intervene on various compression parameters, including grayscale, is free and is also highly intuitive.
- Wecompress - simple online service useful for reducing the weight of PDF documents (but not only). It does not offer any kind of option (it does everything automatically) and has a very pleasant user interface.
