Scanned PDF's too large

[pgar...@adobeforums.com]

I purchased a scanner, and when scanning into PDF format, the black/white documents are quite large. If I take a WORD document (not an option with this scanner) and use PDF Writer, I get a tiny and manageable document. Any suggestions? (I have the Acrobat program for the scanner set to medium quality/smaller documents). Thanks...

[William_...@adobeforums.com]

A WORD document is generally text (PDFWriter is not the recommended conversion process, particular if graphics are included), while the scan is a graphics image. A single page of graphics can take 1MB or so, depending on resolution and colors. Simple text usually takes 1kB or so for a page.

If you want to make the scan smaller, you can lower the scan resolution, scan to a TIFF and import (often get better compression), or use paper Capture to change the graphics into text if possible.

[Aandi_...@adobeforums.com]

You need to take specific control of your scanner settings. Start by
finding out what resolution and colour model you are using. (Colour
model is something like full colour, 256 colour, greyscale or
monochrome/black and white).

You cannot let the scanner maker choose something it thinks is right.

The settings are critical. Some settings will make files HUNDREDS of
times larger than others. We can help you understand what effect your
choices have on the file size.

Aandi Inston

[Stephen...@adobeforums.com]

Greetings,

If you look at scanning in the simplest manner there are three levels of scanning, full color, greyscale and black & white. Full color gives you the largest file, black & white gives you the smallest file of the same image at the same size and resolution. (For more detail on scanning there is probably something elsewhere on the Adobe site.)

It sounds like you're scanning into PDF using full color when you only need to use black & white scanning. It's time to read the Users Manual for the scanner software, understand the basic controls and then alter the settings so that you're scanning these printed and handwritten documents using whatever the software refers to as its black & white settings. "Monochrome" is an alternate description. The scanner may even have a "text" setting though the option might have the software processing the image in some way with undesired results. (Where there are graphs or shaded items involved you may want to use greyscale settings on those pages only to get the best detail.)

Steve