Mac OS X Power Hound, Second Edition

ColorSync Utility

If you’re thinking, “I can skip this section, I don’t work with color for a living,” you’re missing out on a lot. The bundled ColorSync Utility has several hidden tricks that are helpful even if your personal idea of ColorSync is trying to pick a shirt to match your neon-blue pants.

Reduce the Size of Photo-Laden PDFs

For those who regularly use Mac OS X’s Save as PDF feature with graphics-heavy files (such as iPhoto contact sheets or image-intensive Web sites), you can reduce the size of those PDFs using ColorSync. Downsizing these kinds of PDFs before you email them can save your recipient a lot of unnecessary downloading.

There are two ways to shrink a PDF: you can reduce the file size when you first create the PDF, or you can do so after the fact.

When-the-PDF-is-created method

To reduce the file size when you first print to PDF, proceed through your normal routine in the Print dialog box: specify the printer, page layout, and so on. Before you click the Save as PDF button, however, choose ColorSync from the pop-up menu in the middle of the window and select Reduce File Size from the Quartz Filter pop-up menu, as shown in Figure 11-9.

When you click Save as PDF, ColorSync takes over and does its best to reduce the size of the graphics in the file—and it’s usually quite successful. You may find, however, that ColorSync is a bit too aggressive, and that you’ve given up some image quality for disk space. If that’s the case, you’ll want to use the “after the fact” method ...