For print, should I deliver booklet pages as PDF with JPEG compression or as JPEG files?
Asked 4/12/2013
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I'm preparing a high-resolution booklet for print (pages are over 4800 pixels tall). I can either export each page as a PDF using JPEG compression at maximum quality, or save each page directly as a JPEG at high quality. My printer says my current PDFs are too large, so I'm trying to choose the best format while keeping print quality high. Which format is better, and how can I reduce file size without hurting output quality?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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The standard approach when I was last doing print work with InDesign was to export to PDF, resizing each image above 450 PPI to 300 PPI and compressing with JPEG, quality set to "maximum" (or sometimes "high"). I assume there are similar options for Quark.
The reason your PDF files are too large is most likely that you have embedded images at their native resolution which is far higher than is necessary.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
13y ago
0
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For a printed booklet, PDF is usually the better delivery format. PDF is designed for print workflows and preserves page layout, placement, text, and vector graphics much better than sending flat JPEGs. A JPEG only contains the rasterized image, while a PDF can keep the full page structure intact.
The large file size is likely not because PDF is “worse,” but because the images inside the PDF are being kept at a higher resolution than needed. A common print workflow is to export PDF with JPEG compression and downsample images above about 450 ppi to 300 ppi, using maximum or high JPEG quality. That usually keeps quality suitable for print while reducing file size a lot.
If your booklet contains any text or vector elements, PDF is clearly preferable. Even if it is image-only, PDF still helps preserve formatting and page order for the printer.
So: use PDF, but optimize the export settings—especially image downsampling and JPEG compression—rather than switching to individual JPEG pages.
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