Apago PDF Shrink Review: Features, Performance, and Tips

How to Use Apago PDF Shrink to Reduce File Size Without Losing Quality

1. Install and open Apago PDF Shrink

• Download and install the version compatible with your OS.
• Launch the app and open the PDF you want to compress.

2. Choose the right compression preset

• High Quality / Print: minimal compression, preserves images and text for printing.
• Medium / Web: balanced compression for on-screen viewing.
• Small / Email: aggressive compression to minimize file size.
  Choose the highest-quality preset that still achieves the file size you need.

3. Adjust image downsampling and compression

• Downsample images to a resolution appropriate for intended use:
  • Print: 300 dpi
  • Screen/Web: 150–200 dpi
  • Email/mobile: 72–96 dpi
• Choose image compression: use JPEG2000 or JPEG with high quality (80–90%) for photos; use ZIP/Flate for line art and images with large flat color areas.

4. Optimize fonts and subsets

• Embed only used font subsets rather than full fonts. This reduces size while keeping text rendering accurate. Ensure font subsetting is enabled.

5. Remove unnecessary objects and metadata

• Strip embedded thumbnails, unused form fields, hidden layers, file attachments, and document metadata (author, comments) if not needed.

6. Flatten transparency and annotations (if acceptable)

• Flattening reduces complexity and can lower file size. Only do this if you don’t need editable layers, annotations, or form fields after compression.

7. Linearize (optimize for web)

• Enable PDF linearization (fast web view) if the document will be viewed online; this can slightly change structure and sometimes reduce size.

8. Preview and compare quality

• Before saving, preview pages at 100% to check image quality and text sharpness. Compare key pages against the original.

9. Iteratively tweak settings

• If quality loss is unacceptable, increase image resolution or quality and re-run compression. Aim for the smallest file size that meets your quality threshold.

10. Save with a new filename

• Save compressed PDF under a new name to preserve the original.

If you want, I can suggest exact settings for a typical 20‑page scanned PDF intended for on‑screen reading.