# How to compress a PDF to under 1 MB

Upload forms tend to cap attachments at 1 MB or 2 MB, and a multi-page scan sails past that. Open the document in Scan Clan, choose Compress, and pick a level — the new size is shown before you commit, so you are not guessing and re-doing it.

## Step by step

### 1. Open the document menu

On the document you want to shrink, and choose Compress.

### 2. Pick a level

The estimated size for each is shown alongside it.

### 3. Check the number before saving

This is the part that saves the repeat attempt: you can see whether you have cleared the limit while you can still change your mind.

### 4. Save or share

The compressed copy is what you send.

## If it is still too big

Split the document and send the pages that are actually needed. Most forms asking for "proof of address" want one page, not the eleven-page statement it came in.

Re-scan with a lower capture resolution. Capture resolution is a setting, and dropping it makes every page smaller from the start — which beats compressing a needlessly large photo afterwards.

Use Black and White for text pages. A page of text carries no information in its colour, and a one-bit page compresses far harder than a colour photograph of the same sheet.

## Why scans get so large

A scanned page is a photograph, not text. A PDF produced by a word processor stores letters as instructions and weighs almost nothing; a scan stores several million pixels per page. That is why ten scanned pages can outweigh a hundred typed ones, and why compression has something to work with in the first place.

See also: [how to scan a document to PDF on Android](/guides/scan-documents-to-pdf-on-android/).

> Scan Clan is free, and every step below is part of the app — there is no paid tier to move any of it into. [Get it on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spirikle.scanclan).

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_Scan Clan · https://spirikle.com/guides/compress-a-pdf-to-under-1mb/ · published by Spirikle · support@spirikle.com_