How do I reduce/compress PDF file size from scanned document - HP Photosmart Premium

[summerphlox]

I scanned a 12 page document (with very few graphics) in greyscale at 150 dpi. It was still 1.68 mb. At this low dpi the document looked degraded - low quality. I've seen high quality greyscale pdf's with a very low file size. When I scanned this same document in color at 300 dpi it was a wopping 8mb, but at least the document was readable. Any suggestions on how to get a 12 page document under 1 mb with decent quality?

[Praveen_David · Accepted solution]

Do not change anything with resolution. 

After selecting Scan to PDF, click on Advance Option. Here in the new window which opens at the top you can see PDF as selected. Beside this "Options" button will be there. Click on it and a slider will appear. It will be at maximum. so you need to move the slider to minimum or closer to that and click OK Try scanning. 

This will reduce the file size.

[summerphlox]

It worked!

Thank you

[cgoodie]

This did not work for me.  First, the image quality was very poor...and I could not get that option to stick throughout scanning a muli-page document.  It had to be changed for every page.

[summerphlox]

If you are scanning multiple pages at the same time (as in one scan only), the dpi settings would be the same for every page.

To save your settings so you don't have to keep reapplying them follow these instructions:

Open HP Solution Center.

Click on Scan Document.

Click on which scan shortcut you would like to customize.

Then click on the "Change Settings' button.

Click on the "Advanced Document Settings" button. From there you can change the resolution (300, 600, etc). Click ok.

Then click on "Save to file Save Options" button.

Make sure "PDF" is chosen from the drop-down box and click on the "PDF Options" button. There you can change the image quality/file size. Move slider to left to reduce, or to the right to increase. Then click ok.

Click ok again.

Then click on "Save Shortcut" button. Give the shortcut a NEW name (a name that describes your new settings, etc) and it will save the settings that you've made. Click on "Save".

Then click on the "Scan" button.

Next time you scan, choose the new shortcut name you made to use the same settings.

I had to experiment with the settings a few times to get the quality/file size that I wanted.

[KarlPerry]

I've read the instructions but on this computer, the Options button to change the PDF quality is disabled - it is disabled for every file type.

I have a second PC where this button is enabled.

Since HP doesn't seem to show the version number anywhere I can't be sure that I have the same version of Solution Center on both PCs, but they look the same.

What do I need to install to make the Options button be enabled?

Thanks.

[rutrow]

Did you find a solution to the fact that you did not have a slider bar or that the pdf options tab is not available?  I'm having the same problem with my scanner.  Thanks!!

[hpfifties]

I spent 4 hours trying all the options to no avail.  Finally I scanned as a TIF instead of a PDF, then 'printed' it with cutepdf to convert it.  This allowed a 'normal' sized document from scanning.  Otherwise scanning to file produced 34 x 45 poster sized documents. 

[cwdanis]

That's not the way it works with a M1217nfw MFP.  The scan function is initiated by a "scan to" button.  You get a choice of output type, but no "Advanced Option" choice appears.  The manual speaks about scanner resolution settings, but says absolutely nothing about how to set them.  The scanner settings screen has no option to make any kind of change.

Even a one-page pdf of text creates an enormous file whien scanned.  How do you decrease the file size on a M1217nfw MFP?

[henkech]

RE:  HP Solution Center for Win 7

I am trying to scan directly to a PDF file, and I've been able to get a very small file size like 70K.  However, the real size of the PDF document is 35 inches X 45 inches, not 8.5 X 11 which is what I cropped it to.  I don't see any way to specify a Scan Profile, like I could do in the older version of this HP software.  In that Scan Profile, I could specify an output doc size which was then used for the output file, whether it is PDF or whatever type.  This older version worked much better, and had more capability.  I'm not sure why the software has devolved.  I've spent quite a bit of time with it - the feature is not there.  Not only does it output this huge PDF document - I have to manually crop each page to 8.5 x 11, which I didn't need to do before when there was a stored Scan Profile.

I have managed to get what I want, by using a TIF output file type from HP, and then using IrfanView software to save it as a PDF.  (In the old version of HP, if I scanned as a TIF, I could then save as a PDF directly from the HP software).  But, I still need to manually crop each page.

What a mess!  Does anyone have any suggestions of cheap or free software that does a basic scanning and saving function?