|
| |
The star of the catalog show
Printing catalogs is not just about putting on everything designers learned in design school. Or choosing the proper layout and fonts. There are many factors that should be considered first. There are also some sure fire tips to make the factors work for ...
Web Designers Beware!
As a web designer, I have a personal interest in a new trend which threatens to put me and my kind out of business. That “threat” is Web Design Templates. In short they are ready-made web design products which can be used as a basis for a fast and ...
What Business Card best suits you?
Indeed, business cards add sense to every business marketing and campaign. If it adds a lot of impact an attention to your company, then business cards should never be forsaken. It should capture and invite the customers and in order to achieve that, ...
|
|
|
|
| |
Creating Small PDFs
The main factors in creating small PDFs are image resolution, image type (bitmap or vector), the number of fonts used and how they are embedded, PDF version, and the level of compression. In general the higher the PDF version number, the smaller the file. Acrobat 5 (PDF version 1.4) added JBIG2 compression, which is superior to the CCITT or Zip algorithms when compressing scanned monochromatic copy.
JBIG2 (Joint Bilevel Image Experts Group) encoding compresses monochrome (1 bit per pixel) image data from 20:1 to 50:1 for pages full of text. Like other dictionary-based algorithms (LZW, ZIP) JBIG2 creates a table of unique symbols and when a subsequent symbol matches one in the table, it substitutes a token pointing to the table index. JBIG2 also compresses the entire table.
Acrobat 6 (PDF version 1.5) added the ability to compress the entire file (Clean Up Settings dialog). However, since over 90% of Acrobat users have version 5.0 or greater, using PDF 1.4 is a safer alternative. Acrobat will usually display (with a warning) a more recent PDF version, but new compression schemes will spawn an error when opened in older versions of Acrobat. At the time of this writing, Adobe says that of those 90%, 50% use version 5 and 40% use version 6.
To create the smallest possible PDFs file size for the Web minimize the number of fonts, bitmapped images, and substitute vector based-graphics instead. Minimize the number and complexity of forms in your PDF document, and avoid the use of multimedia.
There are different methods to create PDFs, including outputting to PostScript and Distilling, GDI/Printing, one-click "Direct to PDF," and dynamically on the server-side. However you create a PDF, the techniques and tools listed below can help you enhance and optimize your PDFs for the Web.
Avoid Refried Graphics
For graphics that must be inserted as bitmaps, prepare them for maximum compressibility and minimum dimensions. Use the best quality images that you can at the output resolution of the PDF. Inserting compressed JPEGs into PDFs and Distilling them may recompress JPEGs, which can create noticeable artifacts. Use black and white images and text instead of color images to allow the use of the newer JBIG2 standard that excels in monochromatic compression. Be
sure to turn off thumbnails when saving PDFs for the Web.
Use Vector Graphics
Use vector-based graphics wherever possible for images that would normally be made into GIFs. Vector images scale perfectly, look marvelous, and their mathematical formulas usually take up less space than bitmapped graphics that describe every pixel (although there are some cases where bitmap graphics are actually smaller than vector graphics). You can also compress vector image data using ZIP compression, which is built into the PDF format. Acrobat Reader version 5 and 6 also support the SVG standard.
Minimize Fonts
How you use fonts, especially in smaller PDFs, can have a significant impact on file size. Minimize the number of fonts you use in your documents to minimize their impact on file size. Each additional fully embedded font can easily take 40K in file size, which is why most authors create "subsetted" fonts that only include the glyphs actually used.
Fix Fat Forms
Acrobat forms can take up a lot of space in your PDFs. You can use PDF Enhancer from Apago to reduce forms by 50% by removing information present in the file but never actually used. You can also combine a refried PDF with the old form pages to create a hybrid PDF in Acrobat.
Optimizing Existing PDFs
In many cases you won't have access to the original document, just the resulting PDF file. Many PDFs we've seen are not fully optimized for the Web, using conservative settings more appropriate to high-resolution printers. For computer monitors viewing web-based PDFs, you don't need high resolution images and exact reproduction of font faces, you just want to convey your information in an efficient way. Using the techniques outlined below, you can shrink your PDFs, while still maintaining the textual data for search engines, and reasonable quality for print output. Some webmasters offer two versions of their PDFs, once for fast web display, and one for printing.
Save As...
Once you're done making changes to your PDF document choose File -> Save As and overwrite your existing PDF file. By default, save as removes changes that are appended to PDFs by the Save command, linearizes the file for fast web viewing, and removes unused objects.
The result is a compact, linearized PDF that displays the first page (or an arbitrary page) quickly, while the rest of the file downloads in the background. Although linearized PDFs are slightly larger, they also increase perceived speed. Note that optimizing a signed document will invalidate its signature.
About the Author
Article by Andy King, author of the popular book titled "Speed Up Your Site – Web Site Optimization". Web Site Optimization, LLC is a leading provider of web site optimization and search engine marketing services that "tune up" web sites for increased usability, conversion rates, traffic, and profitability. For more information about Web Site Optimization visit http://www.websiteoptimization.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Identify Mystery Fonts With Find My Font ProPCWorldIt's after dinner hour and you're still at work searching for the font your boss requested. You want to strangle the person who suggested the Boss keep a scrapbook of designs they like. How long can it take to match a font to this magazine clip? |
Forbes |
Monotype Imaging Is A Font Of GrowthForbesIt offers a collection of approximately 14000 typefaces consisting of owned and licensed fonts; monotype, linotype, and ITC typeface libraries; custom font design services for corporate branding and identity purposes; and PCL 6 and PostScript 3 font ...and more » |
|
Identify Mystery Fonts With Find My Font ProPC World IndiaIt's after dinner hour and you're still at work searching for the font your boss requested. You want to strangle the person who suggested the Boss keep a scrapbook of designs they like. How long can it take to match a font to this magazine clip?and more » |
|
Asus All-in-One PC ET2700INKS user reviewsCNETPros: Big is not Better equally, but if not comparing to Apple 27 inch, then Asus ET27 is good for the money. Cons: Fonts and a lot of smaller finer icons looked slightly blurry. Summary: Every fonts looked awkward or indistinct on this system. |
|
