how to scale the size of your pdf down adobe illustrator

The best way to save a PDF is to use Save a Copy, not Save As. So make sure when you save a PDF it is not the only file you have, and that there is an Illustrator version still around. You lose a lot of data and structure making editing somewhere between more difficult and impossible. The file can only be opened as a PDF, not an Illustrator file. If the PDF is for high resolution printing then the file size is irrelevant.Īnother big issue is that when you save as a PDF without Illustrator Editing Capability you lose, well, Illustrator editing capability. Smaller resolution and not embedding the Illustrator file will make for a smaller file, often much smaller. You also don’t include Illustrator Editing Capability. If you want the file to be smaller you select a lower resolution for images in the Compression section.

When you do that you are effectively saving the same file as a default Illustrator file because it includes both native Illustrator and PDF versions, except the extension is. The default PDF format includes Preserve Illustrator Editing Capability. When you do that you have a selection of presets to use, and you can customize the options. This file is usually much smaller and saves faster, especially if images were linked instead of being embedded or pasted.

You can save without PDF Compatibility, which will remove the ability to preview the file outside of Illustrator. When you preview the file in another program or rasterize it in Photoshop this is what is used.

The other part is a PDF including all raster data, whether linked or embedded, at full resolution. This is what Illustrator reads when you open the file so all data and file structure is included. One is the Illustrator data, including swatches, layers, hidden objects, guides, styles, and more. When you save as a native Illustrator file you’re saving two versions of the file. Some things to know about Illustrator and PDFs.

How to scale the size of your pdf down adobe illustrator