PDF Compression Settings: DPI, JPEG Quality, And Color Profiles

DPI: How Much Is Enough?

• Web reading: 120–150 DPI equivalent is usually fine.
• Office print: 200–240 DPI balances sharpness and size.
• High‑quality print: 300 DPI+ for photos/graphics.
• Downsample only images above target DPI; keep text vectors intact.

JPEG Quality And Chroma Subsampling

• Quality 70–80: sweet spot for web and office docs.
• Chroma subsampling: 4:2:0 reduces color data; OK for photos, risky for UI/line art.
• Try 4:4:4 for brand graphics to avoid color fringing.
• Beware of banding in gradients at low quality; test visually.

Color Profiles

• sRGB for web and screens.
• CMYK only when required for professional print.
• Converting CMYK→sRGB often saves size and simplifies rendering.

Safe Presets

• Web: 150 DPI, JPEG 75, sRGB, strip metadata.
• Office: 200 DPI, JPEG 80, sRGB, subset fonts.
• Print: 300 DPI, JPEG 85–90, keep profiles/tags.

Workflow (Browser)

1. Open Compress PDF.
2. Pick preset; adjust DPI/quality if needed.
3. Enable font subsetting and remove unused objects.
4. Compare visually and measure size reduction.

Related

• Compress PDF
• Resize Pages
• Optimization Guide
• PDF to Image