How to Reduce Scanned PDF File Size? (2 Ways)

After you scan a huge pile of documents and images, you may end up with a large file which is hard to store as it takes a lot of space and is especially hard to share through email. You might ask yourself or someone else how to reduce the scanned PDF file size. Well, we have here foolproof methods to do it quickly, and efficiently.

Part 1. How to Reduce File Size of Scanned PDF Documents Offline?

UPDF is a great tool to reduce the size of scanned PDF files of any kind. With UPDF, you have the power to choose the size and quality of the scanned PDF file. There are several ways to reduce the size. If you have trouble saving a large file, UPDF offers cloud storage, so you can save the large original file in the cloud without ever worrying about the memory space in your computer. If you do not wish to reduce the size and still want to share it with someone but are unable to attach a large file to the email, with UPDF you can create a link or a QR code and share it with anyone. Another cool feature with UPDF is the integrated AI with a Chatbot option and also AI can help you to translate, summarize, and explain any PDF. You can download UPDF right now and purchase the annual subscription. It is way cheaper than any other PDF editor out in the market with a similar number of tools.

Way 1. Reduce Scanned PDF Size with Compressing

In case you want to keep all the contents of the scanned PDF file and you cannot afford to lose any content, you can compress the scanned PDF file in UPDF without deleting any part of the file. To do so, follow these simple steps:

Step-1. Open the UPDF app on your PC and then open your scanned file using the "Open File" tab you will see on the screen. Also, you can go to the "File" menu and pick the "Open" option. You can then browse into the folder where the file is saved and open it.

Step-2. Go to the "File" menu and click the "Save as others" option. You will see a dialogue box with options to pick the document quality of the output file. Below each option, you will see the size of the output file you will end up with using that option. Pick as per your liking, and then hit the "Save as" button at the bottom of the box, to save the compressed file in the required folder.

Reducing the file size by compressing the scanned file sometimes changes the quality. But if preserving high quality is not your top priority, you don't have to worry about this. 

For those who want to keep the quality, they can follow the below methods.

Way 2. Reduce Scanned PDF Size by Deleting Unwanted Pages

If you have some unnecessary pages, you can reduce the file size by deleting them. Follow these steps to reduce the file size by deleting unwanted pages in PDF:

Step-1. Once the scanned file is open with UPDF, you will find a panel of options on the left side of the window. Click on "Organize pages".

Step-2. You will see all the pages lined up on the screen and you can click on any one and then hit the delete icon at the end of the banner of options on the top to delete the page selected.

To select multiple pages, hold the "Ctrl" key on your keyboard, allowing you to select or unselect more than one page.

Alternatively, you can also unselect the pages and click on the delete button and specify the page number you want to delete.

Step-3. This will reduce the size of the scanned PDF file. Once pages are deleted, save this scanned PDF file using the "Save" option in the file menu. Now you will find the saved scanned PDF file size is smaller.

Way 3. Reduce Scanned PDF Size by Splitting

If you cannot afford to delete pages and you also do not want to compromise on quality, you can reduce the size of the PDF file by splitting it into several files with UPDF. To do so, make sure you have UPDF on your computer. If not, you can click on the below button to download it and then, follow these steps:

Step-1. Once the file is open, click on the "Organize Pages" icon from the panel of options on the left. You will see a banner of options on the top including the "Split" option and also all the pages of the scanned file lined up on the screen.

Step-2. Click on the "Split" option from the banner which will open a submenu of options. There is more than one way to split files with UPDF.

If you choose the first option, "Split by Number of Pages", your scanned file will be split into more than one file depending on the number of pages you specify. So, if you choose 2 pages in a 7-page document, the document will be split into 4 files. Once finished specifying, click on the "Split" button to save the file.

If you choose the "Custom split Range" option, you can split the file by keeping the cursor between the two pages which will show you a line with a scissor sign. Click in between any two pages and the file will be split. You can split one file into as many files as you want. This will reduce the file size depending on the number of files you split your scanned PDF file.

If you choose the "Split by Size" option, you will have the choice to split the file into a number of files of a specified size. The UPDF will split one document into several of a specified size depending on the size of the original document.

Step 3. When you choose the correct option and finish setting, you can click on the "Split" and choose where to save the split scanned PDF file. Now, you can find each split file size is very small and you can send them one by one to others.

Way 4. Downsize Scanned PDFs by Deleting Unwanted Images

Images in any file make the document heavy. If your file has scanned several images but some of them or all of them are not necessary to retain or you only care about the text and not the images in the file, you can reduce the file size by deleting the unwanted images. To do so using UPDF, download UPDF with the below button and follow these simple steps:

Step-1. As the scanned PDF file cannot be edited, you need to click on the "OCR" icon at the right side panel. Then, click on the "Perform OCR" to make it editable.

Step-2. Once the editable scanned PDF is open in the UPDF, you can click and choose the "Edit PDF" icon at the left side panel.

Right-click on any image in your scanned PDF file which will open a submenu. Click on the "Delete Image" option. You can repeat the same steps to remove all unwanted images to reduce scanned PDF file size.

Step 3. When everything is done, you can click on the "File" > "Save" to save the scanned PDF file. Now, you will find the scanned PDF file size is smaller.

I am sure UPDF can be your great option if you need to reduce scanned PDF file size. Moreover, UPDF has several other features. UPDF offers a complete package of PDF editing and annotation tools. You can do a lot more with your scanned PDF file than just reducing its size. For instance:

You can convert the scanned PDF into a searchable and editable file using the OCR tool and then edit any text or images as per your liking.

You can also crop out any text or pages or unwanted areas in your file, organize/reorganize pages, or split one page into several pages.

You can add headers or footers, signatures, stamps, comments, redact any parts you want to keep confidential as well as password-protect the file.

You can combine files, and convert files of other formats into PDF and vice versa.

To know more about UPDF you can download UPDF free trial version with the below button and also watch this YouTube video:

Part 2. How to Reduce Scanned PDF File Size Online?

You can also reduce the scanned PDF size online. There are several free online apps to use. However, they have their own cons. For example, there is always a risk of security. You may have a document that you cannot simply risk like that. Then several of those online apps restrict the file size, which means you cannot work with big files. Also, a lot of them have a limit to the number of PDF files you can process for free. After that, you have to pay. Also, for all the online options, you have to have an active internet connection. Nevertheless, if this is the option you want to pick, here are the steps to reduce the PDF file size online. We will show you the steps on how to reduce scanned PDF file size online for one of the websites, SmallPDF, but most websites for this kind of task work the same way.

Step-1. Go to the SmallPDF Online PDF Compressor and upload your scanned PDF file by clicking on the "CHOOSE FILES".

Step-2. Once you upload the scanned file, choose from two tabs, "Basic" which compresses the file moderately, but the resolution is good, or "Strong" which compresses the file immensely but with a lower resolution of the output file. Then click on the "Compress" button.

Step-3. Your file will be compressed and will be available for you to download. Click on the "Download" to save the compressed scanned PDF file on your computer.

Final Words

You now know how to reduce scanned PDF file size. You can use UPDF which is a desktop-based app and SmallPDF, the online too to compress scanned PDF file size per your needs. Unlike online PDF file compression apps, UPDF is safe, secure, powerful, and without limitations. So, we recommend you to use this tool. You can download UPDF right now and use it not just to reduce the file size but a lot more.