PDF Muzzy Files Question

[Kenneth Irwin]

I'm using Acrobat Capture 3.0 (which I loathe and detest, btw); my smallest
files are also about 150K, but the pagination varies wildly. All scans are
using 300 dpi resolution:

138K for 8 pages (landscape, so actually 2 book pages to a PDF page)
149K for 3 pages (portrait, magazine size 1p/p)
190K for 12 pp (landscape)
195K for 5 pp (portrait)
223K for 7pp (portrait)
233K for 13 pp (landscape)

Curiously, all the pages that are in landscape get much better KB/pg ratios
(landscape =15-17K/pg; portrait=30-50K/pg)

When doing our initial tests, we concluded that 300 dpi was the best
compromise for clarity and filesize, so we've stuck with that throughout. 

One thing that will reduce file size is using the cleap-up functions
(review document) to eliminate big black blotches and toner marks.
Unfortunately, Capture crashes whenever we use that feature (which gets
back to the loathe & detest part). If you can get Review Document to work,
it may improve your results. We have found, however, (during the brief
periods when the feature has worked for a while before crashing) that
cleaning up fuzzy words isn't worth the time. Cleaning up stray marks and
toner spots is fairly worthwhile though.

I'd be curious to see how this fits in with others experience. (And if
anyone's gotten Review Doc to not crash on an NT system, I'd love to hear
from you!)

Ken

>Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 08:13:06 -0500
>From: "The Shy Librarian" <publisher at shylibrarian.com>
>To: <web4lib at webjunction.org>
>Subject: PDF Muzzy Files Question
>
>Hi: I've noticed great variation in how long it takes for pdf files to load
>on the web.  Haven't had much success myself in optimizing pdf files, and
>wish to ask the group for help.
>
>I have been using Acrobat Exchange 3.01 and scanning in images, but even my
>smallest files continue to be large for the web (150K) and muzzy.  Now, if I
>make the files huge, everything works just fine, as long as you don't mind
>waiting a day for the page to come up.
>
>Questions:  Are there pdf optimizing tricks, or specific resource pages out
>there that I should know about?  Are there serious advantages in upgrading
>to Acrobat 4?  Is there a way to directly convert QuarkXPress 4.01 pages to
>PDF without scanning?
>
>A little enlightenment would go a long way, if you have a moment.
>
>Joseph Cadieux, MLS
>Publisher, THE SHY LIBRARIAN - www.shylibrarian.com

Ken Irwin	                            		kirwin at wittenberg.edu
Reference/Electronic Resources Librarian	(937) 327-7594
Thomas Library, Wittenberg University