Compress PDF using python step by step

Compress PDF using python step by step 

1. Method

Here's a step-by-step guide to compress a PDF file using Python:

Install the PyPDF2 library:

   

    pip install PyPDF2

Import the PyPDF2 library in your Python script:

python 

    

    pip install Py   pip Copy code

   

    import PyPDF2

Open the PDF file you want to compress:

makefile

   

  pdf_file = open("original.pdf", "rb")

  pdf_reader = PyPDF2.PdfFileReader(pdf_file)

Create a new PDF file to store the compressed version:

makefile

Copy code

   

  pdf_writer = PyPDF2.PdfFileWriter()

Loop through each page of the original PDF file and add it to the new PDF file, setting the compression level:

scss

  for page_num in range(pdf_reader.numPages):

    page = pdf_reader.getPage(page_num)

    page.compressContentStreams()

    pdf_writer.addPage(page)

Save the compressed PDF file:

lua

  compressed_pdf = open("compressed.pdf", "wb")

  pdf_writer.write(compressed_pdf)

  compressed_pdf.close()

  pdf_file.close()

That's it! You now have a compressed version of your PDF file.

Complete code

Here's the complete code for compressing a PDF file using Python and the PyPDF2 library:

python

   

    import PyPDF2

    # Open the original PDF file

    pdf_file = open("original.pdf", "rb")

    pdf_reader = PyPDF2.PdfFileReader(pdf_file)

    # Create a new PDF file to store the

    compressed version

    pdf_writer = PyPDF2.PdfFileWriter()

    # Loop through each page of the original PDF

    # file and add it to the new PDF file

    for page_num in range(pdf_reader.numPages):

        page = pdf_reader.getPage(page_num)

        page.compressContentStreams()

        pdf_writer.addPage(page)

    # Save the compressed PDF file

    compressed_pdf = open("compressed.pdf", "wb")

    pdf_writer.write(compressed_pdf)

    # Close both PDF files

    compressed_pdf.close()

    pdf_file.close()

2. Method

Another way to compress a PDF file using Python is to use the pdfminer library. The pdfminer library provides the pdf2pdf script that can be used to compress a PDF file. Here's an example of how to use the pdf2pdf script to compress a PDF file:

Install the pdfminer library:

Copy code

    pip install pdfminer

Run the pdf2pdf script on the command line, specifying the input and output files and the desired compression level:

    pdf2pdf -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite

     -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4

-dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -sOutputFile=compressed.pdf

     original.pdf

This will compress the original.pdf file and save the compressed version to compressed.pdf. The -dPDFSETTINGS option sets the compression level, with /ebook providing the highest compression and /prepress providing the lowest compression.

Note that this method is a command-line tool, not a Python library, and therefore requires using the command line to run the script

Complete code 

As mentioned earlier, this method of compressing a PDF file using the pdfminer library is a command-line tool and not a Python library, so there is no code to write in Python. You just need to run the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

bash

    pdf2pdf -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite

     -dCompatibilityLevel=1.4

-dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -sOutputFile=compressed.pdf

     original.pdf

This command will compress the original.pdf file and save the compressed version to compressed.pdf. The -dPDFSETTINGS option sets the compression level, with /ebook providing the highest compression and /prepress providing the lowest compression