When you're asked for 10 MB
- Document management systems and tender platforms that accept complete files in a single upload.
- Storage and messaging services with a per-file limit.
- Color scans with dozens of pages.
What quality to expect at 10 MB
It's the least aggressive target: if your PDF weighs 20 or 30 MB because it's made of color scans, bringing it down to 10 MB is barely noticeable. Bear in mind that such a large file uses the device's memory while it's processed; on older phones, be patient.
If your file is already under 10 MB, we give it back untouched: there's no point recompressing something that already fits. And if the target turns out to be impossible, you get the lightest version we could achieve, with a clear notice of the final size.
Common questions about this size
Why does my scan weigh 30 MB?
Almost always because of the scanner resolution. Many devices scan at 600 dots per inch and in color by default, which multiplies the size more than twentyfold compared with a 150 dpi grayscale scan, with no visible difference in a text document. If you scan often, changing that setting solves the problem at its source.
How long does such a large file take?
On a recent desktop computer, a twenty- or thirty-megabyte PDF is processed in a few seconds, because the work runs on a separate thread and the interface doesn't freeze. On an old phone it can take much longer and use a lot of memory: if the browser runs out of it, close other tabs and try again.