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PDF-bestanden Comprimeren Stap voor Stap

By FreeOnlineTools Team · Updated 2026-09-02

Quick Answer

Om een PDF te comprimeren: open de PDF Compressor, upload je PDF, selecteer een compressieniveau (medium is meestal best) en download de gecomprimeerde PDF. Alle verwerking gebeurt lokaal in je browser met een WASM-gebaseerde bibliotheek —je PDF wordt nooit geüpload.

Introduction

PDF-bestanden kunnen groot zijn door ingesloten afbeeldingen, fonts en ongecomprimeerde inhoud. Grote PDF's zijn traag om te e-mailen, uploaden en downloaden, en kunnen bijlagelimieten overschrijden (typisch 10-25 MB). Comprimeren verkleint de bestandsgrootte door afbeeldingen te hercomprimeren en redundante objecten te verwijderen.

Step by Step

  1. Open the PDF Compressor tool

    Go to the PDF Compressor tool page. The tool processes PDFs locally using a WASM-based PDF library, so your file never leaves your browser.

  2. Upload your PDF file

    Click upload or drag-and-drop your PDF file onto the tool. The tool loads the file into memory using FileReader. The maximum file size depends on your browser's memory (typically 50-100 MB).

  3. Select the compression level

    Choose a compression level: Light (minimal quality loss, ~20-30% reduction), Medium (good balance, ~40-60% reduction), or Strong (aggressive, ~60-80% reduction, may visibly reduce image quality).

  4. Compress the PDF

    Click Compress. The tool processes the PDF: it recompresses embedded images at lower quality, removes redundant objects, and optimizes the structure. This may take a few seconds for large files.

  5. Download the compressed PDF

    Click Download to save the compressed PDF. The tool shows the original and compressed file sizes and the percentage reduction. Open the result to verify quality is acceptable.

Examples

PDF with embedded photos

Input: report.pdf (15 MB, 50 pages with photos)

Output: report-compressed.pdf (4.5 MB) — 70% reduction, photos slightly softer

Text-heavy PDF

Input: document.pdf (2 MB, 100 pages, mostly text)

Output: document-compressed.pdf (1.2 MB) — 40% reduction, no visible difference

Scanned PDF

Input: scanned.pdf (30 MB, scanned images)

Output: scanned-compressed.pdf (8 MB) — 73% reduction, text still readable

Common Problems

  • PDFs with already-compressed images compress less —if images are already JPEG-compressed, further compression yields smaller reductions.
  • Strong compression degrades image quality —use Medium for most cases; reserve Strong for when file size is critical and quality is secondary.
  • Encrypted PDFs cannot be compressed —decrypt the PDF first (remove the password) before compressing.
  • PDFs with embedded fonts may not shrink much —fonts are a significant part of some PDFs and cannot be compressed lossily.

Tips

  • Use Medium compression for most cases —it provides a good balance of file size reduction and quality preservation.
  • For email attachments, target under 10 MB —most email providers reject attachments over 25 MB and some over 10 MB.
  • Compress scanned PDFs more aggressively —scanned pages are images, so image compression techniques work well.
  • Use our PDF Compressor for private, browser-based processing —your PDF never leaves your device.

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References